


Settling the Score

by sultrysweet



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mildly Dubious Consent, Porn With Plot, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-26
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-02-08 13:53:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 248,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1943655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sultrysweet/pseuds/sultrysweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not too long after Emma Swan arrives in Storybrooke, she finds herself in a constant battle with Mayor Regina Mills and it's not just about their son Henry. While fighting for dominance, the two of them retaliate against each other by any means necessary to assert their power over the other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Finally got around to copying this over from fanfic.net. All mistakes are mine and I'm sure there are plenty throughout the first few chapters or so of this story. Hopefully you won't judge me too harshly for them and hopefully they don't pull you out of the reading too much. Enjoy. :)

She kept reminding herself that she needed the money. The money wasn't always the greatest, but it kept a roof over her head and food on the table. She needed the money.

She sat through a so far yet short lived good date, but there was a problem. He'd failed to appear in court after being bailed out by her employer. In fact, he failed to appear in town after he robbed a company from the inside.

She showed her hand and turned the date into an interrogation in a single breath. His eyes went wide and he flipped the table before he sprinted out of the restaurant, looking over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't following him.

Even in a skin tight pink dress and heels, Emma Swan always got her money's worth. She didn't see her fleeing date as a man. She saw him as her next paycheck. She saw him as her paid off light bill that granted her the luxury of not having to come home and stub her toe on the couch or ram her shin into the coffee table.

She sighed as she smoothed out the front of her dress then nonchalantly headed for the exit. She went straight to the parking lot and scanned the area as she made her way toward a beat up, vintage yellow Volkswagen. She smirked when she saw her mark two cars over frantically pull out his keys and fumble with the fob as he opened the driver's side door.

“Tag. You're it,” Emma said as she pushed closed the door and leaned in next to him, cocky.

The man hissed and clenched his jaw as he pocketed his keys.

Emma pulled out a pair of cuffs from her bra and tossed him into the back seat of her VW Bug. She dragged him to the police station and left him with two officers then headed to the main desk to collect her fee.

After a ten minute drive back to her apartment complex, she stopped by the landlord's apartment with a handful of cash and a small paper bag. She knocked on the door and cleared her throat while she waited for an answer.

Within several seconds, an older man with gray hair and rough, labored hands opened the door. He frowned when he looked at Emma and took a deep breath as he leaned against the door frame.

“Well if it isn't the broke blonde from two-oh-five,” he laughed with a hint of an Irish accent.

“Guess you haven't kept up with current events. I'm not broke tonight,” she grinned as she flashed her cash and waved it close to his face.

“Look at you, flauntin' your big money. What'd the guy do this time to score you so much dough?”

“Embezzlement.”

“Nice.”

“Not so nice for the people he screwed over, but nice for me. As soon as you turn on my lights, I can walk into my place bruise free.”

“I can't just turn on your lights, Swan. There's a whole process. Earliest they'll come on is ten AM tomorrow.”

Emma groaned.

“Come on, Joe. I can't keep bumping into things up there. Any more trauma to my shins and I swear I'll have to be admitted to the hospital for internal bleeding.”

Joe laughed then puffed out a sigh as he scratched his head.

“All right. I'll see what I can do, but if I can't fix it tonight-”

“Ten AM. Thank you,” Emma said over her shoulder as she took her paper bag upstairs to her apartment.

She opened the door with sore feet and turned on the flashlight she'd positioned on the end table near the door. It lit up the ceiling above the table with the most luminance, but the diffused glow made it easier for Emma to navigate herself to the kitchen without hitting any part of her body.

She kicked off her heels on the way to the kitchen island and set the paper bag on the counter top. She pulled out a pack of five different colored star-shaped candles and a cupcake with plain white frosting.

She stuck a blue star candle into the cupcake and lit it.

“Happy birthday to me.”

She sighed and closed her eyes to make a wish. She blew out the candle and didn't open her eyes until she smelled the subtle smoke.

Suddenly, she heard the doorbell.

She took a deep breath then went to the door. She opened it expecting Joe with news about the electricity, but realized quickly it was someone much smaller.

She looked down and furrowed her brow at the brown haired boy that stood at her door.

“Hello,” Emma greeted, confused.

“Hi. Are you Emma Swan?”

“Yeah,” she reluctantly replied.

“My name's Henry. I'm your son.”

Storybrooke had been a small, gray colored town in Maine for years. Nothing there was particularly exciting except for the one thing everyone there feared, the Mayor. The citizens of the quiet little community had lived under her rule for as long as they could remember, but no one was clear on how long that had been since the only source of time came from the big clock in the center of the city. That clock stayed frozen on eight-fifteen every day. Frozen like the townspeople as most days felt like eternity.

The Mayor had her ways. She knew the importance of time considering the fact that the entire town had no true sense of it. She lived her life like the only part of time she had to cherish was her child's youth. She refused to miss a single moment she could have to raise him right, give him the love and the life he wanted and not what she wrongfully assumed would be best for him.

She had piercing hazel eyes, short, dark hair, and olive skin. She walked with authority and controlled every situation she could. She enjoyed the upper hand and intended to always keep it since she took on the high status job. But she could only control so much in a situation like hers.

Ever since Henry was a baby, there would be nights she couldn't sleep without checking on him. She used to get gut wrenching feelings that he wasn't safe, that something was coming to take him away from her, especially given her frequent nightmares for the last two months.

Those nightmares became reality when she checked on Henry that night only to find he wasn't in bed. He wasn't anywhere in the house for that matter. He'd left his bed stuffed with pillows and blankets to fool the brunette at first glance, but after a particularly violent nightmare Regina needed more than a look.

She reached out to touch him when she discovered his trickery and had been panicked ever since then. She was wracked with so much worry and fear that she'd enlisted the help of the Sheriff to search the town for him, knocking on doors and taking a flashlight through the woods. The woman was beside herself waiting for the ten year old to return.

She liked control, but she couldn't control where her son was at that moment in time. She couldn't control him even when he was in the same room as her. Every day was a new challenge with him. Every day for the last month.

The one thing she liked more than being in control was being a mother. She hated that Henry pulled away from her more and more each time she tried to bring him closer. She was aware that maybe she was suffocating him by trying so hard, but she didn't know what else she could do to keep him from leaving her. Her worst fear, the backbone of her nightmares, was losing her son. Waiting with the Sheriff in her living room forced her to believe she had indeed lost him and not just physically.

“We'll find him, Madame Mayor,” the Sheriff offered support as he gently touched her bicep and squeezed it to comfort her.

“So proper,” Regina tried not to shake.

She was desperate to have Henry back, but she'd be damned if she let someone else see her softer side. Though she was worried, she bucked up and took control no matter how inappropriate the timing.

“You know me better than that by now, Graham,” she turned to him and ran her hand from his shoulder down to his forearm.

She grinned up at him as she noticed him relax from his stiff, business-like demeanor. It didn't take long for her to assert her power over him.

“Kiss me,” she demanded as her eyes flashed with purple sparks of electricity.

Graham leaned in and wrapped his arms around her waist as he pulled her close. He kissed her as the sparks in her eyes disappeared before she closed them to completely enjoy the kiss. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes to reveal their normal hazel color, free from any sparks. She parted her lips to allow full access to her mouth, which Graham immediately took advantage of as he slid his tongue between her lips. She darted her tongue out to meet his only a few times as she hardly put up a fight for dominance.

She wasn't too interested in going much further with the Sheriff at that point, his lost puppy compliance becoming less attractive the more she ordered him to please her, not to mention the fact that her thoughts then revolved around her son's safe return.

She broke their kiss, her lips still parted, as she granted access to her neck and stared out the front window to watch the walkway leading from the sidewalk up to her doorstep.

Graham kissed her neck for a couple minutes as he slowly descended down her front. He hiked her light gray dress halfway up her thighs and got down on his knees. Regina clearly knew where he was going with his actions without having to even look at him and spread her legs without a word spoken between them.

The way their interaction was going, it was as if Regina knew every move Graham was going to make before he made them. It was as though she'd silently asked him to do what was he was doing when her eyes filled with those purple sparks.

Graham pulled the thin black fabric between him and Regina's sex down to her knees as her dress started to slip down her thighs and engulf him.

She felt his hot breath on her center seconds before his tongue licked between her folds. Back and forth and back again he moved his tongue against her before he slid the tip of his tongue inside her.

She gasped as she continued to stare out the window. She clenched and unclenched her fists as she tried to keep herself together and in an upright position. Suddenly, lights illuminated her street and started to flood the bushes lining her property line out front the closer the lights approached her place.

Regina's jaw dropped as her eyes widened with a flicker of hope.

“Stop,” she commanded before her eyes briefly glowed purple again.

Graham hunched less than an inch forward as he came to his Sheriff senses again and removed himself from between her legs. Still on his knees, he slid Regina's underwear back up her thighs to their rightful place on her body. He licked his lips and took in what little taste he got of her as he got to his feet.

A worn out yellow Volkswagen parked by the curb a few feet from the walkway. Within seconds, the rattling engine died along with already dull headlights and a blonde haired woman with a red leather jacket emerged from the driver's side.

When the blonde shut her door and made her way around the front of the car, the passenger door opened and Henry jumped out with his backpack in hand.

Regina smiled and pulled down her dress, the hem reaching the top of her knees before she smoothed it out with her flattened palm.

She ran to the door in her black heels and rushed to open it.

“Henry,” she called to him with joy as she ran as fast as she could down the front steps.

Henry looked back at the blonde and locked eyes with her. She displayed an “I told you so” expression.

“Please don't leave me here with her,” Henry begged before Regina was in earshot.

They both redirected their attention to the relieved older woman only inches away with outstretched arms.

She pulled Henry into a hug and squeezed him like she was never going to let go.

“Where were you,” she asked, almost on the verge of tears. “I was so worried.”

Henry pushed out of her embrace and frowned up at the brunette.

“I found my real mom,” he exclaimed as he ran into the house, past Graham without a second look at the man in his doorway.

Regina watched Henry flee from her with sadness, but turned to the blonde in shock.

“You're Henry's birth mother?”

“Hi,” the blonde forced a smile through the awkward meeting.

Regina took a quick moment to regain her authority.

“How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted,” Regina asked with a small grin.

“Got anything stronger,” the blonde asked with a sense of weakness.

Regina's grin spread as she felt her dominance over the woman standing in front of her.

Graham headed inside to check on Henry as Regina led the blonde into her house.

She made her way over to a mahogany table with fine china on it, the cider being the only drink in stock, as Emma leaned against the archway between the foyer and the living room. She started to fix up two glasses of apple cider on the rocks.

“How did he find me,” Emma asked, hands in the pockets of her tight denim jeans.

“No idea. When I adopted him he was only three weeks old. Records were sealed. I was told the birth mother didn't want to have any contact,” Regina said as she poured the first glass.

“You were told right.”

“And the father?”

“There was one.”

“Do I need to be worried about him?”

“Nope. Doesn't even know,” Emma answered as she looked around the room.

“Do I need to be worried about you, Miss Swan,” Regina asked as she handed Emma a drink, hers in the other hand.

“Absolutely not,” Emma replied after a moment, trying to size up the brunette.

“Madame Mayor, you can relax,” Graham interrupted as he bounded down the winding staircase and returned to his proper, on-the-clock demeanor. “Other than being a tired little boy, Henry's fine.”

Regina smiled.

“Thank you, Sheriff,” she spoke with a small sexual undertone to thank him for more than checking on Henry.

Emma picked up on the tone and tried to stay out of it as she intently stared at the front door like she was planning her escape.

“I'm sorry Henry pulled you out of your life,” she said as Graham headed toward the door. “I really don't know what's gotten into him.”

“Kid's having a rough time. It happens,” Emma replied as she walked toward the sofa facing the door in the study.

Emma took a sip of the cider.

“You have to understand, ever since I became Mayor balancing things has been tricky. You have a job, I assume?”

“Uh, I keep busy. Yeah,” Emma set her glass on the table in front of the sofa.

“Imagine having another one on top of it,” Regina said as she crossed the room from the mantle behind Emma and took a seat opposite the blonde. “That's being a single mom. So I push for award. Am I strict? I suppose, but I do it for his own good. I want Henry to excel in life. I don't think that makes me evil, do you?”

“I'm sure he's just saying that because of the fairytale thing,” Emma slowly said as she grabbed her glass and took another sip to subdue the awkward position Regina had put her in.

“What fairytale thing,” Regina quickly asked with worry.

“Oh, you know, his book,” Emma slightly smiled as she lowered her glass to respond. “How he thinks everyone's a cartoon character from it. Like his shrink is Jimminey Cricket.”

“I'm sorry. I really have no idea what you're talking about,” Regina tried to get them out of that conversation, hoping Emma wouldn't believe what she'd heard.

“You know what. It's none of my business,” Emma backtracked after a moment. “He's your kid and I really should be heading back.”

Emma started to take another sip of the cider when Regina was quick to get on her feet.

“Of course,” she flatly said as moved to the door, eager to get rid of the blonde stranger.

Before Emma could swallow, Regina had forced her a smile as she held open the door for Emma.

Emma stared up at Regina taken aback at the abruptness of the brunette's action, but she set the glass back down on the table and removed herself from the sofa.

Walking back to her car, Emma frowned and furrowed her brow. Something was tugging at her, a feeling that Regina was hiding something.

Henry didn't want to go home. He was convinced Regina was the Evil Queen and something about the way the Mayor had presented herself, quick to dismiss the blonde after welcoming her into her home, had Emma second guessing Regina's intentions.

After Emma got comfortable in her car and turned over the engine, she braced the steering wheel and contemplated her next move.

Ultimately, she knew she was going to drive back to Boston, but she'd spent ample time in her car with Henry babbling on and on about fairytales in Storybrooke. As much as it intrigued her to listen to her offspring, to know how the kid she gave up turned out to be as a person, she was a loner. She didn't have anyone to listen to during the day and she didn't have people to listen to her. Being with Henry for a little over four hours was a bit overwhelming.

She took a deep breath and released it in a sigh before she pushed her foot on the brake and put the car into drive. She headed back the way she came for a few miles before she started to feel woozy. She took her eyes off the road for a few seconds and noticed the book titled _Once Upon a Time_ in the passenger's seat. 

She shook her and smirked.

“That kid is way too sneaky,” she thought out loud before she looked at the road again.

Her eyes went wide when she saw a wolf standing completely still in the middle of the lane. It stared back at her, not scared to be hit as it stood it's ground on the concrete.

Emma gasped and veered off road as she slammed down on the brake and turned the wheel at least ninety degrees to the left. She burned rubber and left skid marks on the road as she spun her car around one hundred eighty degrees, facing town instead of the city limits.

Thankfully, she hadn't hit anything. Not the wolf, the trees, and not the dip in the grass lining the shoulder of the road leading into the woods. She took several erratic breaths as her knuckles went white from gripping the steering wheel so hard.

She took bigger breaths when she could, her eyes wide open in shock, and slowed her breathing until she lowered her racing heart rate.

She looked around the road and noticed the wolf was gone. There was no blood and no body so she assumed it had ran away. She eased her foot off the brake and let the car cruise forward at less than five miles per hour. After half a mile of getting herself together, she lightly pressed on the gas and headed back into town going no more than twenty miles per hour. 

She had nowhere to stay and only so much money left that she needed for gas to get her back to Boston. She searched the town for a decent street she felt comfortable with and parked her car a little down the way from a place called Granny's Bed and Breakfast. She got out of the car and manually unlocked the trunk with her keys. She grabbed a red, black, and white plaid blanket she stashed away every winter in case her car broke down in the middle of nowhere on a chilly night.

She also packed a survival kit, a decent sized cooler filled with a few granola bars and six bottles of water because she didn't want to take any chances. She also had two flares, a large flashlight, and a pack of AA batteries. If her car gave out at any given time from that point on, it wouldn't be the first time it would've stranded her in an unfamiliar place far from a gas station in the dead of winter in a city known for experiencing serious snow storms.

She grabbed the cooler and flashlight as well as the blanket before she locked up the trunk and got into the backseat. She set the cooler on the floor behind the passenger's seat and unfolded the blanket to cover her legs. She reached into the glove compartment and grabbed her hat before trying to completely wrap herself up in the blanket.

She slipped on the hat and pulled it over her ears then zipped up her red leather jacket over her chest and let the zipper rest less than an inch from her neck to trap in as much warmth as she could without pushing the zipper into her throat when she laid down.

She pulled the blanket over the upper half of her body and allowed the wool to drape over her shoulder before she rested her head on the backseat on the passenger's side. She curled into a ball as much as she could without her knees outweighing the rest of her body and cause her to fall from the backseat onto the car floor.

As the night went on, the temperature dropped and Emma bundled up as best she could to evenly distribute the blanket around her while she slept. The closer morning became, the more she looked like a caterpillar wrapped tightly in its cocoon.

Even as the sun rose and the townspeople started to rejoice as the clock struck seven thirty, Emma didn't wake. She looked peaceful though her nose was pink and her fists were balled around the blanket as she clung to it for dear life.

With a smile on her face, a black haired woman with a pixie haircut stared at the city clock in the center of town. As she approached Granny's diner, she noticed the out of place yellow car parked in the street. Her smile turned into a look of confusion as she quickened her pace toward the vehicle.

She slowed to a stop as she squinted and looked into the backseat, the first window she saw. She saw a bulky figure with loose, blonde curls splayed across the backseat. She wasn't sure what to do since she'd never seen the car or the person in it before, but didn't want the woman to freeze.

The short haired woman knocked on the window and caused the blonde to stir then jump up in fear before she even had the chance to turn around and see the person that had knocked.

Emma relaxed her shoulders then slowly turned her body at the waist to see the small bodied and fair skinned woman standing outside her car door. The strange woman staring at her politely yet awkwardly smiled as she waved at Emma.

Emma sighed and lurched forward to open the door. She pried the lock up with her index finger and thumb then pulled the door handle in her direction. She only pushed the door open less than an inch to give the other woman time to move out of the way. Once the door was completely open, Emma threw the blanket off of her and maneuvered her feet onto the ground from the opposite side of the interior.

“Hi,” the woman greeted. “I'm Mary Margaret.”

“Hi,” Emma slowly started as she blinked her eyes a few times to wake herself up. “I'm Emma.”

“Did you sleep out here all night,” Mary Margaret asked, a bit concerned.

“Yep,” Emma said as she contorted her body to loosen up her stiff muscles then cracked her neck.

“Um, well, how long are you in town?”

“It was a one night thing. I'll be leaving any minute now that I'm awake.”

“Oh. Where are you going?”

“Boston.”

“Wow. That's a...long drive. You should get some breakfast while you're here.”

“No, it's okay. I've got water and some granola bars.”

“That won't give you enough energy to stay awake. And you're right outside of Granny's diner. She's got great food. You should try some.”

“Really...Mary Margaret. I've got gas money to get me back to Boston and that's it.”

“Then why did you even come here?”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Geez. I thought people in small towns were nice and polite.”

“What? Oh! No, Emma, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to be rude. I'm just curious. We don't get a lot of people from out of town. Actually, we never have people visit from out of town.”

“Oh,” Emma mumbled as she started to feel bad for getting a little cranky and short tempered with the woman. “Then _I'm_ sorry. I'm not a morning person and I spent last night taking my kid back to Regina's house, which was awkward enough without her oddball characteristics of inviting me in for a drink and then nearly tossing me onto the street the second I said I should go.”

“Wait, Regina as in the _Mayor_? And _your_ kid?”

“Uh, yeah, but I'm...I'm his birth mother. I mean, clearly I'm not the one who raised him. You live here. You should know that.”

“So _you're_ Henry's birth mother,” Mary Margaret slowly smiled. “It's nice to meet you. Henry's mentioned you several times almost immediately after I gave him that book of fairytales.”

“You're the one that gave it to him,” Emma smiled out of realization.

“Yes, about a month ago. And nearly every day for the last three weeks Henry's told me about you. Your name, your age, your hair color and height. It was always just a little more information every day. I guess he finally found you.”

“Yeah, but I have no idea how. He took the bus to get to me in the first place. What kind of ten year old has money for the bus when his mom didn't even know he was gone?”

Mary Margaret squinted her eyes as she thought about it.

“Oh, no,” she worriedly said as she pulled her wallet out of her purse.

She opened her wallet and held it out for Emma to see.

“This morning when I got ready for work, I noticed my credit card was missing. He must've taken it from my wallet during class yesterday.”

“Well then. Regina may have raised him, but the kid's definitely got some of my behavioral traits.”

“Listen, you really should have some breakfast,” Mary Margaret said after a moment.

“Like I said, I've only got money for the car.”

“It'll be my treat. Really, Emma. I'd hate to hear about you getting into an accident for falling asleep at the wheel when I could've done something to help.”

Emma paused and held her breath as she thought it over, her near accident last night enough to convince her. She released it in a heavy sigh before she answered.

“All right, but I'm gonna pay you back.”

“And how are you going to do that,” Mary Margaret laughed as she watched Emma stand and close the car door. “You're leaving town after you eat and you only have enough money to get you back to Boston.”

Emma shook her head and smiled.

“I like you,” she admitted as they headed into the diner together.

Mary Margaret smiled back as she led Emma to a stool at the counter and the two of them took their seats.

“Hey,” a light brown haired waitress with red streaks in her hair wearing a tight and revealing outfit smiled at Mary Margaret. “What can I get you?”

“Good morning, Ruby. I'll take some french toast and a cup of hot chocolate, extra whipped cream and-”

“Sprinkled with cinnamon,” Ruby finished her sentence with a smile.

“Guess I order that a lot,” Mary Margaret lightly laughed.

“Only every day during winter and it's usually during breakfast and late night snacks,” Ruby explained, her smile wider than before to expose pearly white teeth with two sharp incisors.

“Cinnamon,” Emma asked.

“Yeah. I know it sounds weird, but it's just one of my little quirks. And it tastes delicious,” Mary Margaret replied.

“No, it's not weird. I mean, not to me. That's how I like my hot chocolate.”

“Oh, you're new. Hi,” Ruby redirected her attention at Emma, excited to see a new face. “Can I get you anything?”

Emma pursed her lips and smiled.

“Uh, I'll take a plate of eggs and some hash browns with hot chocolate, same way she likes it,” she pointed at Mary Margaret.

Ruby nodded before she spoke again.

“Will you be staying long?”

“No, Mary Margaret forced me come in and try the food before I left so I wouldn't drive on an empty stomach,” Emma explained.

“Aw. That's too bad, but Mary Margaret was right to drag you in here. Anyway, your order will be ready in about ten minutes, okay?”

“Thanks, Ruby,” Mary Margaret smiled again.

Ruby smiled over her shoulder with a spring in her step.

“She really seems to like you,” Emma noted.

“Yeah,” Mary Margaret answered, almost chipper.

Emma raised an eyebrow.

Mary Margaret furrowed her brow as she tried to understand what Emma really meant by her statement. When the realization came to her, her jaw dropped.

“No,” she exclaimed as she shook her head. “She doesn't like me in an 'I want to date you' way. We're just friends. Not that I'd have a problem with two women being together. It's just that everyone here is really close.”

“All right, but if everyone's so close please don't let it be a surprise to me that this place is a swinger's town,” Emma wryly said.

Mary Margaret shook her head again.

“No, it's not like that here either. If you were going to stick around you'd understand.”

“Right. Well, I think that's great, but I'm not really a warm and fuzzy, get close to people type anyway. …So, if you don't mind me asking, what's with Regina?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she seems a little bipolar if you ask me, but I'm sure that's not the case, right?”

“Oh, uh, she's a... a long story. I wouldn't really know how to describe her,” Mary Margaret went from being in a good mood to looking shy and slightly frightened.

“I just want to know she's not crazy, that I'm not leaving Henry with her under false pretense that she's a good mother. You're Henry's teacher, right? You'd know if there was anything wrong at home, wouldn't you?”

“Listen, Regina is great with Henry. She's a little controlling of his diet and what he does after school, but-”

“How does she control his diet,” Emma started to worry.

“Oh, it's nothing bad. Really. She does it for his benefit. She doesn't allow much sweets if any at all.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I really think she cares about him a-and she wouldn't do anything to hurt him, but...she's been known to have a few... _boyfriends_ over.”

“What do you mean?”

“Uh, well, lately she's been getting pretty close to the Sheriff. He seems to be around her place a lot now, but before him it was Sidney Glass, a reporter for the Storybrooke Gazette. And I think there was a guy before him that she was with a lot of the time after work, but I couldn't be sure.”

“And how long do these relationships usually last?”

“Well, Sidney still hangs around the Mayor like her pet, but I assumed they were actually together for about a month? Graham's been with her the last three months. Honestly, it seems serious, but Graham's a good guy so if you're worried the men in Regina's life wouldn't give a damn about Henry and his needs, Graham isn't like that. He likes Henry and often checks up on him for Regina when she can't.”

Emma frowned.

“I met him. Last night. He was at Regina's place waiting with her for Henry to come home.”

“You still look concerned. Henry will be fine and everyone in this town adores him so we all look out for him too. We look out for each other, really.”

“Yeah, I guess he'll be okay.”

“But, you know, you don't have to go. You could stay in town for at least a week to keep an eye on him if you wanted.”

“I couldn't. Regina'd probably have my head and I don't know if I've got enough to afford Granny's.”

“No problem. You can stay with me free of charge. I've got an extra bed. The apartment is a little small, but it's enough for me and I'm sure an extra person around wouldn't cut down the space too much.”

“That's a really generous offer, but I've got to make some money.”

“Money, huh,” a man asked from behind Emma.

Emma turned around as Mary Margaret looked to her left and the two of them stared up at the Sheriff, confused and a little weary about what he might have heard.

“Yeah. You got a job opening,” Emma carefully asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do. The work around here might be a little slow at times so it almost seems unnecessary to have one, but I could use a deputy. Someone I can trust to handle things when I'm otherwise engaged or just someone to get lunch for us, watch people in the drunk tank when I go on break. If you're interested, I'd be happy to give you the job.”

“Really? Are there any qualifications? You don't even know me so how can you trust me?”

“Well, I suppose I wouldn't just hand you the badge. You can prove your credibility later tonight if you'd like. Say around five? Stop by the station and I'll test your skills.”

“I'll think about it.”

“It's an open invitation. You know where and when to find me if you accept,” Graham grinned.

The door to the diner opened.

“I hope to see you tonight,” he seductively growled. “Mary Margaret, always a pleasure to see you.”

“Have a good day, Sheriff,” Mary Margaret replied, tying to act casual though his tone toward Emma made her worry for the blonde.

On Graham's way out, he nearly bumped into Regina as she made her way to the counter. She eyed Emma as though she wanted to shoot daggers at the blonde with a single glare, not sure what exactly she'd overheard. 

“Sheriff,” Regina cordially stated, formal though passive aggressive as she kept her eyes fixed on Emma.

“Morning, Madame Mayor,” Graham said as he exited Granny's without delay.

Regina tightened her jaw as she watched Graham walk away from her like he'd done nothing wrong and stared down Emma as she approached the younger woman.

“Miss Swan. I see you haven't left yet.”

“I was leaving last night, but I realized that Henry left something of his in my car.”

“You couldn't have just mailed it,” Regina maliciously stated.

“Not when I think he'd appreciate getting it back as soon as possible.”

“Then you can give to me and be on your way. I'll make sure he gets it.”

“Actually, I thought I'd be the one to make sure he gets it.”

“Miss Swan, I hope you don't intend on returning his property in person just to disappear an hour later. Children can get easily attached to people and I'd hate for Henry to think you'll be around. It would surely devastate him. And I'm sure you're missing a lot of work where you're from.”

“I'm a bail bonds-person. I track people down that miss their court date and don't pay back their bail money. I don't need to be in an office let alone clock in. I get paid for delivery and usually somebody calls me when I need to hit the pavement.”

“I'm to assume no such call has been made?”

“Yep.”

“Lovely,” Regina sarcastically said, unappreciative.

Regina refused to sit down but stood next to Emma as the blonde sat at the counter, Mary Margaret the farthest from her as she sat on Emma's right side.

She ordered her usual from Ruby and gave several sideways glances at Emma filled with annoyance and aggravation

“Why don't you take a seat, Madame Mayor,” Emma pushed with a small grin before she took another sip of her hot chocolate.

“I don't have the time nor do I want to be anywhere near you,” Regina spat in response.

“Well, guess it's just your luck that I'm staying in Storybrooke after all,” Emma's grin spread as she focused all of her attention on the brunette.

Regina slowly, subtly released a seething sigh through her nose.

“Are you.”

“Yes, I am. Imagine how much fun it'll be seeing my face around town every day.”

“If your reason for staying is because you plan on spending time with Henry, you'll be wasting your time here. I will not let you anywhere near my son.”

“Despite your best efforts, Regina, you can't keep me from him. I will get some time with Henry if it's the last thing I do.”

“Careful how you talk to me. I run this town, Miss Swan, and I'm sure some of these _fine_ citizens have already informed you I'm not one to be messed with,” Regina trained her eyes on Mary Margaret for a moment to call out the black haired woman.

“In case you're a little slow to figure this out,” Emma defiantly stated as she stood and closed what little space there was between them. “I'm not afraid of you.”

“That's your first mistake,” Regina threatened. “You have no idea what I am capable of.”

“Then let me inform _you_ that your first mistake is threatening me. I don't respond well to being cornered.”

“If you already feel cornered-”

“I don't. I'm just explaining the severity of the situation if you think of crossing me. I want you to know what you're getting yourself into.”

“Please. I don't need your warning. You'll be out of here in no time. You never stay in one place too long. I checked up on you not long after you left my home. Seven addresses in the last ten years. Henry won't have the time to get to know you because you never bother to have any roots. A plant without roots can't grow.”

“Well, toughen up and get ready because I'm about to have roots here.”

Regina chuckled.

“If you say so, dear,” she disbelievingly replied as Ruby brought her order to go. “It was nice meeting you. Goodbye, Miss Swan.”

Regina spun on her heels and sauntered out the door leaving Emma staring after her with a fixed gaze.

She continued to watch Regina get into her Mercedes and drive away from the quaint establishment. The more the brunette pushed, the more Emma wanted to fight back. No matter Emma's reason for it, she wanted to stay more with every breath she spent arguing with Regina and by then she was determined to stay.

 


	2. Chapter 2

After running into Regina, breakfast wasn't nearly as interesting for Emma or Mary Margaret, but they still managed to have a good time for not really knowing each other. Emma gladly took up the other woman's offer to move in with her, especially since Graham had also given her an opportunity to stay close to Henry.

Emma never had anyone to help her, at least not for something good. It felt nice to feel cared for even though both offers came from near strangers. She knew that being given the chance to stay, she needed to spend time with Henry. It was the reason she wanted to stay in the first place. Having an unspoken competition between the town's Mayor was all the more reason to stick around, her adult fun on top of her adult responsibilities.

“I've got to get to the school, but here's the key to my apartment. Move in whenever you can today, but school lets out around three thirty so I should be home close to four and that's the only copy,” Mary Margaret handed her key to Emma.

“Oh, thanks. Um, I guess I'll go make a copy of this and drop it off in your classroom in about twenty minutes? As much as I _don't_ have to pack up and throw in my car in Boston, I still wouldn't make it back before five.”

“Okay,” Mary Margaret smiled. “Let me give you my cell phone number in case you need to get a hold of me.”

Emma pulled out her phone and handed it to Mary Margaret.

The dark haired woman punched in her number and saved it to Emma's contact list, which if Mary Margaret had taken the time to look though she would've found it to be scarce.

Mary Margaret handed back the phone as Emma smiled and flipped over the woman's receipt for the breakfast bill then asked Ruby for a pen.

Ruby pulled one from behind her ear and handed it to Emma.

“What's your address,” the blonde asked as she readied the pen, quick to get down all the necessary information.

Mary Margaret proceeded to tell her then spoke up on a different subject.

“Today's lesson I plan on teaching outside under the big tree on the side of the school. That's where you can find Henry and I before eight thirty.”

“Thanks. See ya soon,” Emma said as she watched Mary Margaret gracefully make her way to the door.

Mary Margaret gave Emma a sweet smile as she looked over her shoulder to make eye contact with the blonde before she opened the diner door and exited.

“Thanks,” Emma said to Ruby as she handed back the pen.

Ruby gave the blonde a knowing smile as she slipped the pen behind her ear then glided back toward the kitchen.

Emma shook her head and smirked as she watched Ruby leave as though she knew just what the proud-bodied woman was thinking about her. She slid the check off of the counter and pocketed it as she left.

Making a copy of the key was a little harder than she thought it'd be since she didn't know where to go to get it done. Instead, she stumbled upon Mr. Gold's place and ended up asking him. He agreed to it, but the looks he continued to give her as she waited for the key to be copied made her uncomfortable.

He grinned at her several times like he knew something about her that even she didn't know. He never asked for Emma to do any favors for him over copying a key, but part of her felt she'd end up owing him later anyway.

She thanked him on her way out and went straight to the school, Henry's book still in the passenger's seat. She grabbed it after she parked near the side of the building, where Mary Margaret informed her they'd be, and kept one key in her jacket pocket as the other stayed pressed against Henry's book by the pad of thumb.

She smiled when she saw Henry sitting under the tree. He looked very astute, his academic excellence she hoped he wouldn't get from her since she virtually had none. By the time she was eighteen, she stole food, hygiene products, and even the car she still drove around to that day. She never went to college and only managed to get her GED during her third year of high school before she dropped out entirely.

Though she doubted her ability to be a good influence on Henry, a push in the right direction, she hoped she could steer him away from the life she made for herself with what limitations she had. It was why she gave him up in the first place. A single mother fresh out of prison couldn't possibly raise a good let alone healthy little boy.

Mary Margaret stopped talking when she noticed Emma approaching and caused the whole class to turn and see what had distracted their teacher.

Henry's face lit up like a light at the end of the tunnel. For the short time Emma had known him, his smiles always made her feel like she could in fact be his mother too.

“You're back,” he exclaimed as he shot up and ran to Emma.

Emma's smile grew to twice its original size as she got down on one knee to meet Henry for the hug she anticipated he'd give her as he ran at her with open arms. She wasn't one to hug, especially since she was in uncharted territory with the boy, but somewhere inside her the maternal instinct she didn't know she had kicked in.

The two of them embraced and Emma felt her heart warm, but unfortunately that feeling was short lived. Her mind went back to its dark place where she doubted herself and worried about her involvement in his life, what it would mean in case she had to leave or decided that maybe staying wasn't in his best interest but her being selfish.

Emma slowly eased out of the hug and Henry, though he was still happy to see her, took the cue to let go.

“You brought my book,” he beamed as he looked at the item in question under her arm.

“I figured you couldn't go without it. You talked about it enough in the car so I thought I'd give it back.”

Henry frowned, which in turn caused Emma to frown. She wasn't sure what she'd said, but she was pretty sure his loss of joy was her fault.

“So...that's all you came back for? And now you're leaving?”

Emma shook her head and lightly smiled as she realized what his new mood was about.

“No. I mean, yes, I'm leaving, but it's only to get my things from Boston. I'm staying here, Henry. ...For you.”

The smile gradually returned to Henry's face. He was happy again.

Emma was happy to see him happy about her staying, but it still made her feel guilty since she wasn't sure she was making the right decision. No matter how much she wanted it to be the right decision, she didn't know if being around would screw him up like Regina seemed to think.

“You're staying,” Henry stated as he let it sink in.

“Yeah, kid. I'm gonna be here for you,” she said as she handed over the book. “Keep it in a safe place this time. I'd hate for you to lose it again.”

Henry's smile widened as he nodded and accepted the book.

“Got it.”

“Okay, get back to learning. Pay attention to Miss Blanchard, all right?”

“Okay.”

Henry went back to his place in the grass and set the book down in front of him as Emma walked over to Mary Margaret.

“Here,” Emma handed her the original key. “I'll see you after my meeting with the Sheriff later tonight.”

“Okay,” Mary Margaret softly said as she took the key.

Emma smiled at Henry as she walked back toward her car.

Henry waved goodbye and got Emma to do the same.

Regina sat watching the entire display. If Emma hadn't already gotten under her skin about Graham and Henry, she was certainly going for a record at that point. The blonde just didn't seem to understand Regina's request and she was the only one in the town that wouldn't listen to her.

She knew Emma was trouble and intended to destroy Emma's plans. She couldn't, wouldn't, allow the blonde to win.

Her first action to bring down the blonde was to talk to the man that was willing to give the train wreck of a human being a job. She swung by the police station with one purpose: keep Emma from having a job in Storybrooke.

“What exactly is your interest in Miss Swan,” Regina cornered Graham in his office, not bothering with small talk.

“Madame Mayor, so nice of you to drop in,” Graham feigned pleasantries.

“Oh, cut it out with the Madame Mayor bit. You can call me by name.”

“Can I, because you never make it clear when that's appropriate,” he shot back.

Regina clearly didn't appreciate his smart ass tone.

“Look, all I did was give her a job opportunity,” Graham started. “I overheard her talking with Mary Margaret and I could hear it in her voice. She wants to stay. She's here for Henry.”

“I know,” Regina growled.

“And you're not happy about that? The boy adores her.”

“She's trouble, Graham. I don't want her messing with Henry's life. He doesn't need false hope, he needs a mother and he's already got one.”

“Regina, it's a delicate situation. She's Henry's birth mother. She has a bond with him.”

“Please, she's known him for two seconds. I've known him his entire life.”

“It's not that simple.”

“That's where you're wrong. It is simple. She didn't want anything to do with him when she gave him up. She signed a legally binding document that said she wanted no contact. Henry's ten, not eighteen. His involvement with her is under my control and I don't see it fit for her to be around. You're going to deny her the job. Make her jump through hoops to make it seem like this was your decision? I don't care. Just get her out of my town.”

“You're still not understanding how fragile everything is with Henry. He knows Emma's out there now and he's already met her so she's not some far from the truth dream.”

“Don't talk to me like you know _anything_ about this, Graham. You don't even have a kid so I suggest you shut your mouth about my predicament before you make me shut it for you,” Regina leaned in and said through gritted teeth. 

Regina stormed out of the room, click-clacking her heels on the hardwood floor.

“You better be at my place for dessert later tonight,” she demanded without looking back then rounded the corner and left.

Emma returned to town, a little worse for wear considering the small issues she'd run into in Boston and the long drive there and back, but she had all her things in a few boxes and bags. The rest of what she didn't want to take with her or figured she wouldn't need, she gave to the landlord as a way of paying him back for breaking the lease.

Oddly enough though, he bothered to ask where she was going. When she admitted that her son found her in a month's time and she wanted to be close to him, the guy suddenly became sympathetic to her situation. He didn't know first hand what it was like to be in her position, but he knew enough to know her job in Boston hadn't paid her to keep up with the abrupt life changes like the one she was making then. He returned her money she'd given him to turn on the lights and told her to spend it on gas getting back to her son.

With that money, she made it back in one piece. She was ready to earn her spot on the small town force even though she was twenty minutes late meeting with Graham.

She sprinted down the hall to get to his office and hoped he'd still want to see her. She'd put all her eggs in one basket, like an unprepared idiot, and needed the job he'd offered.

“I'm sorry,” she breathlessly exclaimed as she latched onto the door frame to stop herself outside his office. “I'm sorry I'm late. I had to...go to Boston. Got my stuff. ...I'm ready.”

Graham chuckled at her appearance as she panted in the doorway. Her hair was a little scrambled like her brain as she tried to keep herself on her feet, her legs like jelly as they wobbled a bit from her run.

“I'm guessing you don't do a lot of cardio,” Graham joked.

Emma smiled.

“Maybe not as much as I should,” she said as she started to catch her breath. “If I get the job, I'll be sure to jog for an hour every other day.”

“Ambitious. I like it. I just have a few questions to ask...and there's not a lot of running on the job. It's a small town. Responding to call, you tend to get there pretty fast since it's usually just down the street. And we do have cars.”

Emma laughed.

“Right. Okay. Well, ask away.”

“All right. What was your last job?”

“In no elegant terms, bounty hunter. I tracked people down, brought them to the police station and collected my money.”

“And how long did you do that?”

“For the last four and half months. Almost immediately after moving to Boston. I quit today.”

Graham nodded as he accepted her answer.

“Right, well, I think you can do this job. It's really not a lot of work. The most you'll do on a normal work day is a hefty stack of paperwork, but most of it's for me.”

Emma smiled and nodded.

“So...does that mean I've got the job?”

“Against my better judgment not to defy Regina, yes, you've got the job.”

Emma let out a single laugh of relief.

“Oh, thank god. Wait, Regina?”

“Yeah, she came here earlier and told me not to give you the job, but I don't think you deserve that. You should be here if you want to be here and it seems like Henry's fond of you so I think it'll make him happy to have you in town.”

“Right,” Emma slowly forced a smile. “Well, thank you...for the opportunity. I, uh, would like to start right away, but I thought I'd see Henry.”

“No problem. There's nothing I need help with tonight so enjoy your first and last day between jobs because I expect you back here at eight AM tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Emma graciously smiled and turned to leave.

“Oh, Emma,” he stopped her before she got too far from the office. “You're gonna need a key to this place. Some days I might ask you to open up shop, if you don't mind.”

“Mind? Hell no, I don't mind. You gave me a job!”

Graham chuckled again.

“Great,” he said as he pulled a spare key out of the center drawer of his desk. “See you tomorrow morning.”

He tossed the key across the room.

Emma caught it and lifted it to show him she'd caught it as she lowered her head.

“Tomorrow morning.”

She spun on her heels and proceeded out the door.

Though she'd imagined her meeting with Graham would've taken longer, she was happy to have the chance to see Henry before his bedtime. 

She went from the Sheriff's station straight to Regina's estate. As much as she didn't want to see Regina, she knew it was the only way to get close to Henry.

The price you pay for love, she thought as she parked outside of the grand and sophisticated house.

She sighed the closer she got the door and dug her hands in the front pockets of her tight denim jeans. She hadn't bothered to change all day and she was sure she needed a shower, but she'd had to go longer without cleaning herself up before and she didn't look too awful to spend time with Henry.

She reached out and rang the doorbell then stuffed her hand back in her pocket. She waited for an awkward minute or two before heels became audible on the other side of the closed white door marked with the number  _108_ . 

“Miss Swan,” Regina formed the younger woman's name into a question as she looked her over in surprise. “You are aware that it's dinner time, right?”

“Yes, but I was hoping I could see Henry.”

“Haven't you seen him enough for one day,” Regina shut her down.

Emma furrowed her brow as she tried to think of why Regina would say that.

“No matter,” Regina continued. “We're just about to sit down for supper.”

“Oh, well, I-”

“Emma!”

Regina turned around at the sound of Henry's voice from the archway between the foyer and the dining room.

“What are you doing here,” he asked as he walked toward the two women.

“I...came to see you,” she slowly said as she nervously looked between him and Regina.

Henry smiled.

“Mom, can Emma stay for dinner,” he looked up at Regina as he stood by her side.

“I don't think-”

“Please, mom,” he started to beg, giving her puppy dog eyes to seal the deal.

Regina sighed then looked back up at Emma.

“Would you care to join us for dinner,” Regina begrudgingly asked.

Emma smirked and took a step closer to the door.

Regina stepped aside to let Emma through as Henry happily took Emma's hand and led her to the dining room.

Regina focused her death glare at the hood of the dirty yellow car parked at her curb that peeked out from behind the bushes as she slowly closed the door, her knuckles white from gripping the handle as tight as she could to control her swelling rage.

Henry directed Emma to take the empty seat next to him at one end of the table as Regina took her seat at the head of the table.

Regina took her fancy white napkin and laid it out in her lap. She watched Henry toss his to the side as though she hadn't spent several nights teaching him proper diner table etiquette.

“Henry,” she called out, not pleased with his action.

“What,” he innocently asked.

“Napkin,” she pointed at the bundled up cloth to his right.

Emma took her napkin and followed Regina's previous actions. She might not be as well-mannered as Regina, but she at least knew the napkin rule.

Henry rolled his eyes before he caught sight of Emma placing her napkin in her lap.

“ _You_ do it too,” he disbelievingly asked. 

Emma laughed.

“Yeah, kid. It's what you do during dinner.”

“Why,” he asked.

“Like I haven't told you a million times,” Regina mumbled.

Emma and Henry paid her a small amount of attention before looking back at each other to resume their conversation.

“In case you spill anything. You'll get it on the napkin and not yourself. It keeps you from looking like a slob,” she joked.

Henry giggled at her answer.

“Okay,” he said as he took the napkin and folded once over in his lap. “Like this?”

“Just like that,” Emma smiled as she rubbed his shoulder.

Regina rolled her eyes, though inside she felt hurt that Henry already trusted Emma's words and regarded her actions more than he'd ever done for her in the last few months.

“Yes, well, now that the napkin dilemma has been solved,” Regina started. “Time to eat.”

Henry picked up his fork and started to dig in. Emma softly laughed as she watched him devour his food before she looked down at her plate and picked at the meal, feeling out of place.

“Do I need to treat you like my son, Miss Swan? We don't play with our food,” Regina informed her.

Emma cleared her throat under the intense gaze of the brunette. She could tell Regina wouldn't let up on her stare until Emma satisfied her current demand.

Emma jabbed her fork into a piece of meat and kept her eyes locked on Regina as she took a bite.

Regina grinned before she had a bite from her own plate and tore her eyes away from the blonde.

“So...Henry,” Emma slowly started after a brief moment. “How was school today?”

“It was good. You saw. We were outside for a while learning about the earth.”

“And what'd you learn about it?”

“That...we're part of the solar system and we rotate on an invisible axis. Whatever that is.”

“You should probably know what that is,” Emma chuckled.

“Miss Blanchard explained it, but I don't really remember what she said,” he confessed.

“I'm sure it was because he was too distracted by that book of his,” Regina commented as she shot a look at Emma.

Emma stared back at the woman, but didn't bother to put up a fight. She sat there and took it before Henry came to her defense.

“No, I was listening to the sound of the wind. It made this really peaceful sound when it hit the branches of the tree we were under.”

“So you were daydreaming,” Regina said to Henry but looked once again at Emma for her final comment. “That's not any better.”

“Are you seriously blaming me for his appreciation of nature,” Emma asked as she dropped her fork on the plate with a staccato clang.

“Well, he had to inherit something from you. He couldn't possibly have gotten all of his traits from his father. I just assume all the good ones he has come from _him._ ”

Henry frowned.

Emma started to grind her teeth as she sat under Regina's constant scrutiny.

“We also started learning about the Civil War this week,” Henry interrupted as he looked at Emma.

She didn't look back at him until he lightly placed his hand over hers. Se snapped her head in his direction, not expecting the contact and forced a smile to please him. She could tell by the look in his eyes he desperately wanted the fighting to stop.

“Really,” she asked. “Refresh my memory. What was that war about?”

“Uh, well, there were two sides. There were the people that wanted slaves and people that wanted freedom for the slaves.”

“Ah, I remember this one. Who was President then?”

“Um,” Henry trailed off as he thought about it. “Lincoln?”

Emma smiled and nodded.

“Good job.”

Henry's smile returned.

When Henry looked down at his plate and resumed eating, Emma looked back at Regina with a serious expression. She wasn't angry. She was almost pleading with her eyes.

Regina quickly glanced at Henry as he ate. She realized she wasn't just making digs at Emma, she was upsetting him. She didn't want Henry in the crossfire of her battle with Emma. When she stared at the blonde once again, she released a sigh and took another bite from her plate.

“Henry, go wash up before bed,” Regina warned as she excused him from the table.

“Okay,” he practically groaned before he turned to Emma. “Thanks for coming.”

Emma smiled as Henry hugged her, though she still hadn't gotten used to his warm and frequent embraces.

“It was great seeing you,” she told him. “Now get upstairs like your mom said.”

Henry smiled when she said it and looked up at her one last time before he headed toward the stairs.

Regina had started to clear the table and stood with her plate as well as Henry's piled on top of each other in her hand when Emma turned back to face her. She moved to grab Emma's as well when the blonde swooped in and picked it up.

“I'll get it,” she offered.

Regina stoically stared at her for a split second then turned and walked into the kitchen. She set the plates on the left side of the sink and started the hot water.

Emma slowly followed her lead, but kept the plate in her hand as she momentarily watched the brunette rinse off the first dish.

“Listen, I know you didn't want me here for dinner, but I-”

“I don't even want you in _Storybrooke_ let alone my own home, Miss Swan. The only reason you're standing in my kitchen right now is because of Henry.”

“I got that part,” Emma said as she finally set down the plate. “...It really bugs you that I'm here, doesn't it.”

“It doesn't 'bug' me. I only want what's best for Henry and I don't think you being here agrees with that purpose.”

Regina left Emma to wash the last dish and the rest of the silverware as she pulled her vibrating phone out of the pocket of her black dress pants to respond to a text.

Before Emma did anything with her plate, her curiosity got the best of her as she tried to read over the Mayor's shoulder. Unfortunately, her vantage point didn't get her close enough to see more than a glowing white screen with blurry black text in between Regina's arm occasionally obstructing her already poor view. She sighed and redirected her attention to the sink as she started to wash what Regina had left for her.

Regina sent her response and slipped the phone back into her pocket as she reentered the dining room and collected the three glasses. She brought them to Emma and stared at the younger woman as she put them to the left of the sink. It was her silent way of telling the blonde to take care of those dishes as well.

Emma knew what Regina meant by her actions and she wasn't too thrilled, but she accepted reality like Cinderella stuck cleaning the house during the ball.

“I'm not trying to steal Henry from you,” Emma started as Regina tried to walk out of the kitchen.

Regina stopped in tracks but didn't turn around.

“I just want to get to know him, make sure he's okay, see that he makes some friends,” Emma continued as she started to pay less and less attention to the dishes the more she spoke.

“That's my job,” Regina informed her as she spun around to face her.

Emma shook her head.

“We're never going to agree on this, are we. I understand you don't like me because you think I'm here to tell Henry you're not good enough for him because _you_ didn't push him out of the womb, but I'm not.

“I have no problem with you raising him except...he doesn't seem to be happy. I want what's best for him too, but not at the expense of his happiness. I've never seen a kid so bummed out, talking about fairytales being real. It's something I feel we should _both_ be worried about, but you don't seem so concerned.” 

“I've kept him safe, fed, healthy, and on the right path. What more could he want?”

“Love, affection, people to talk to, people his own age that understand him, that like the same things as him.”

“Miss Swan, when you are a guest in my home I expect you to treat me with the utmost respect. I love my son. I've taken good care of him since the first time I held him. Having friends is something I agree he should have, but I'm not about to discredit _everything_ I've ever done for him because he prefers to read fictional stories and should be focused on school work.”

Emma sighed.

“I believe it's time for you to go, Miss Swan,” Regina bitterly said as she nearly burned holes in Emma's face with her focused stare.

Emma left the plate in the sink and turned off the water as she shook her hands out over the sink. She tried to be as quick as she could before Regina grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to the door.

“Regina,” Emma exclaimed as she frowned and squinted, shuffling along the floor at the brisk pace Regina set for her. “What the hell is _wrong_ with you?!”

Regina opened the door and Emma pulled her arm back, out of Regina's grasp. When Emma turned out to the yard, she noticed Graham headed up the walkway.

Emma chuckled and gave both Graham and Regina a knowing grin as though she should've known he'd be coming over.

“Have a good night, Miss Swan,” Regina dismissed her as Graham awkwardly passed her on the stairs.

Emma adjusted her red leather jacket as she made it all the way to the sidewalk before she stopped and looked back at the door. Already, Graham and Regina were fuzed at the lips under the porch light.

She scoffed before she witnessed Graham turn Regina so her back faced the inside of the house, her feet facing the front yard.

Regina suddenly open her eyes as their kiss deepened and stared straight at Emma. The two locked eyes instantly.

Emma's eyes were reduced to slits as she watched Regina run her hands through Graham's hair as the man eased her against the door frame. She couldn't look away even as Regina continued to open her mouth wider for Graham to push his tongue further against her own.

Graham placed his hands on Regina's hips and lifted her. Regina wrapped her legs around his waist, her eyes never leaving Emma. Graham led them into the house and kicked the door shut behind them.

Emma took a deep breath and blew it out in a sigh.

Regina knew how to push her buttons. That was fine. Emma knew how to push hers. All it would take was a little friendly warfare.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Like Graham had warned her, Emma had to open the station, but he also told her he'd ask her to do it. She hadn't been asked when arrived at work that morning. She'd been on time, but when she struggled to open the door she realized Graham wasn't.

She'd unlocked the place with a box of donuts in her hand then got comfortable at her desk. Even though she'd only worked there for a day, she learned fast. She really didn't have to do anything more that what being deputy required of her. All she needed to do was boot up the computer and wait for a phone call or ten from complaining citizens.

After she turned on her computer, she went into Graham's office and turned his on out of courtesy. She then plopped down in her desk chair and grabbed a bear claw from the box of donuts. She managed to have her way with it before Graham walked in.

“Hey, Emma. Thanks for opening the station. I kind of slept in,” Graham greeted just before he eyed the donuts. “Is that breakfast?”

He looked tired, the color drained from his face as he unsteadily walked at a slow, deliberate pace.

Emma furrowed her brow as she focused on his left cheek, five scratch marks from his cheekbone to his chin.

“What happened to your face,” Emma asked as she got to her feet.

“What,” Graham asked, confused as he touched his cheek and cringed. “Oh...uh, Regina-”

“Got it,” Emma stuck a hand out between her and Graham as she was quick to stop him from saying anything more.

Graham took a glazed doughnut and ate half of it in one bite.

“Hungry,” Emma teased as she brushed the crumbs from her bear claw off of her fingers over the box.

“It was a long night,” he explained.

“Right. Well, changing the subject, I wanted to know if have any plans tonight.”

“I'm free...unless Regina calls me.”

“Do you really want to spend another night almost getting your face ripped off?”

“Not particularly,” Graham laughed it off. “Do you have plans in mind or were you just asking out of curiosity?”

“Why don't you and I go out tonight. Dinner at Granny's?”

“Hm. Sounds interesting. Although, I'm not sure going on a date with your boss is the best way to start your life here in Storybrooke.”

“Who said anything about a date?”

Emma had a glimmer in her eye and smirked. Graham couldn't help but grin in response.

“Granny's. Seven o'clock.”

“Great,” Emma smiled, pleased with herself.

She knew it was wrong, but asking Graham out would definitely get to Regina and it's not like she didn't like him. He was handsome, had an accent, and was kind to her without even knowing her. But she wasn't sure she liked him more than she liked getting under Regina's skin.

Regina took her time getting ready for work that morning. She might have felt refueled and rejuvenated by spending the night with Graham, her skin glowing as she almost looked five years younger, but she wanted to take it slow. Though Emma had only been in town for almost two days, the woman had started to push her to the edge. She didn't like being pushed. At least she thought she didn't.

She looked at her nails after she finished primping her hair and frowned. They needed work after the way she'd used them with Graham the previous night.

She dropped her hands to her side and headed out to her black Mercedes. Even in such a small town, Storybrooke still had a nail salon that doubled as a beauty supply shop. A happy-go-lucky blonde ran the place and took care of every woman's needs when they walked through the door.

“Regina,” the blonde smiled when she saw the Mayor walk in. “I could've sworn you were just in here last week.”

“Hello, Kathryn,” Regina genuinely smiled. “You're not wrong. I was here last week, but...I managed to ruin your handiwork last night when I was cleaning up after dinner.”

“Oh, what a shame,” Kathryn pouted as she sympathized. “Good thing you came to me as soon as possible. I wouldn't want you walking around town without getting those cuticles fixed.”

They smiled at each other.

“I'll give you a manicure and you'll walk out of here good as new,” Kathryn continued. “How's Henry?”

A frown swept across Regina's face as she thought about him, the way he paid more attention to Emma than to her. She missed him and had been missing him even before he brought Emma into town.

“I was actually going to take him out of school today,” Regina smiled.

“Really,” Kathryn asked as she walked out from behind the counter and guided Regina to the table across the room. “That's so unlike you.”

“I know, but I could use some time with him that doesn't include reminding him to do his homework or having silent dinners with him.”

“Well, I hope he appreciates it,” Kathryn said. “I would've only been so lucky to have a mother like you, one that cared about me and where I ended up in life.”

“Thank you,” Regina said as she held out her hand and let Kathryn get started.

She spent about an hour in the salon and thanked her friend Kathryn on the way out before she went to Henry's school, having decided to take a sick day in order to spend time with him.

She politely knocked on Miss Blanchard's classroom door and patiently waited for the teacher to answer. Within seconds, she got results.

“Mayor,” Mary Margaret stated with a bit of surprise.

“Hello, Miss Blanchard,” Regina greeted with a tone laced in boredom. “I'd like to take Henry for the day.”

“But we're in the middle of a lesson.”

“Yes, and I'm sure you can email me all the information Henry will need to catch up, but I'm not leaving school grounds without him.”

“Uh, okay,” Mary Margaret sheepishly said as she turned to the class and looked at the boy. “Henry, you're needed outside.”

Henry looked at Regina and scrunched up his face before he grabbed his backpack and went into the hallway with her.

Mary Margaret closed the door behind them and continued to teach. Henry looked up at Regina as she led him away from the classroom and knew then that he wouldn't be going back to class any time soon.

“So...I'm giving you a free day today,” Regina smiled as she stopped Henry to get his full attention before they left. “We're gonna spend the whole day together. Just you and I. I know spending a day with your mother doesn't sound like much fun, but I promise we'll have a good time.”

Henry reluctantly agreed and Regina smiled down at him.

When she looked back up and stared straight ahead, her smiled faded as she feared Henry would've preferred to spend his afternoon with Emma. It made her place a hand between his shoulder blades and gently push him along with her to the car. She needed to feel him close to her at least physically to keep her from her own thoughts.

During Graham's lunch break, a call was placed to the station. The answering machine picked it up as Emma walked out of the restroom, which had her listening to every last word that came out of the panicked woman's mouth. The only thing she understood about the call was that there was trouble with a customer at Granny's and then a disgruntled voice barked in the nearby distance as the woman said he was getting aggressive and they needed help.

Emma had no other choice but to respond since she was the only one at the station and she didn't mind. It gave her something to do and she knew she could hold her own if it came to an altercation.

The second she walked into Granny's she assessed the situation, the sight in front of her surprising. Granny stood behind the counter with a broom in hand as Ruby worriedly stood by the phone. The problematic customer stood a few feet from the counter with an angry expression on his face as he yelled at Granny.

“You know I'm allergic to pecans, but you still put it in my order,” the man shouted as the rest of the lunch crowd sat silently watching the scene unfold.

The guy took another step toward the counter and Granny raised her broom in defense.

Emma quickly stepped between the guy and Granny, hands outstretched to prevent any forward movements from either person.

“I never know who's ordering what unless I'm told and I wasn't told! I just make the food,” Granny yelled back at the man.

“Fine then. Ruby should've told you,” he pointed a finger at Ruby.

“Okay, let's not play the blame game here,” Emma tried to calm him down.

“ _I_ should've told her,” Ruby asked. “You never said you were allergic to pecans. I just took your damn order.”

The door opened and Regina walked in with Henry, though nobody noticed as the customer lunged at Ruby and Emma was forced to push him away.

With both hands, she firmly placed them on his chest and shoved him back toward one of the tables with a grunt. The man stumbled backward and almost fell on his ass.

Regina couldn't help but marvel at Emma's strength. She never figured the younger woman to have much power under her red jacket and dark jeans. Emma seemed more like the sit back and take it type, but with her little display of pushing a fairly heavy man back a few feet suddenly made the brunette tingle in all the inappropriate places.

“You should leave now unless you want to spend a night in lock up,” Emma warned the guy. “It was a simple mistake and it's not like you ate any of the pecans. You could tell they were in the food. I mean, really? I can see them from here.”

Everyone looked at the plate with a surplus of pecans on the table behind the guy.

“It doesn't matter. Granny's obviously trying to kill me!”

“What,” Ruby started to get angry at his accusation.

“This wouldn't be the first time she's pulled something like on me,” he argued.

“Wait,” Ruby said as she shook her head. “You ordered the pie of the day.”

“So?”

“Today's pie of the day is pecan pie,” Ruby said with “duh” tone of voice as she pointed at the menu above the counter.

In large, colorful chalk the top of the sign read, “Pie of the Day: Pecan.”

Emma rolled her eyes and looked at the guy as he stared at his feet, embarrassed.

“Dude,” Emma said as she squinted at him like he should've known better.

The guy shuffled out of the place with his head down and Ruby smiled at Emma as she turned to face the bar.

“Guess you decided to stay after all,” Ruby said.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I'm glad you did.”

Henry ran to Emma.

“Emma!”

Henry rushed up to her and tightly wrapped his arms around her waist as he nuzzled his head against her lower stomach.

“Hey, kid,” Emma awkwardly hugged him back, though she was happy to see him.

Ruby smiled at the sight until Regina piped up from near the door.

“Miss Swan. I see your new job is keeping you busy.”

“Madame Mayor, I see you're keeping up with your nail appointments,” Emma commented on the woman's newly manicured fingernails.

Regina looked at Emma with a questioning expression, not sure what she meant by her comment. No one else seemed to get the blonde's joke either, though Emma seemed pretty proud of it.

Suddenly, Graham walked in and Henry let go of Emma though he remained by her side.

Regina turned to see Graham in the doorway, slowly walking in as he looked around the diner at all the wide eyed and slack jawed townspeople staring at him.

Then everyone understood Emma's comeback, the scratches still visible on his face.

“Sheriff, what are you doing here,” Regina asked in a softer tone.

“Uh, well, I heard there was a disturbance at Granny's and thought I'd check it out,” he told Regina then directed his next words at Emma. “I didn't know you'd responded to the call.”

Regina tried to slow her breathing as her heart began to race in her chest out of anger.

“Come on, Henry. We'll just have lunch at the house,” Regina held out her hand.

Henry looked up at Emma, wincing as a way of silently asking, “Do I have to go with her?”

“She's not your mother, Henry. I am and you'll do what I say. Now come here,” Regina barked after watching Henry look to Emma for approval.

Henry sighed then looked down at his shoes before he trudged forward and took Regina's hand.

Regina walked him out of the diner past Graham, not giving the man enough time or room to completely move out of her way before she rammed her shoulder into his chest on her way through the door.

Emma sheepishly smiled at Graham.

He cleared his throat and briefly lowered his head out of respect before he turned and headed back out to his car.

When Emma returned to the station, she noticed Graham at his desk and stopped in the doorway.

She knocked on the door frame with her knuckles then leaned against it.

“Hey. Did Regina say anything to you after the incident at Granny's?”

“No. She stormed off with Henry. I didn't have a chance to catch up with her.”

“Ah. So, are we still on for tonight?”

Graham looked up at Emma and held her gaze for a few long seconds.

“Yes.”

Emma smiled.

“Cool.”

“Do we still have to go to Granny's, though? After the weird looks I got there just now, I'm not sure I want to head back there too soon. I'm not even sure why they were staring at me, but is it okay that we change venues?”

Emma chuckled.

“Yeah, that's fine. Have somewhere else in mind?”

“We could always have a home cooked meal at my place.”

“As long as you're cooking.”

Graham laughed.

“What, you're not any good in the kitchen.”

“I didn't say that,” Emma spoke with a more sexual tone. “The only thing I can't do in the kitchen is cook.”

“So...you can cook in the shower?”

Emma laughed wholeheartedly at the thought.

“No.”

“It's okay,” Graham laughed. “I know what you meant.”

Back at Regina's, Henry sat on the couch with her, a frown on his face as she rubbed his arm.

“What do you really want from me today because I'm pretty sure it's not about spending time with me.”

“Henry!”

“Look, it's not that I'd mind you wanting to spend time with me, but I don't think that's what this is. I think you've got something planned.”

“And why would I have anything planned?”

“You're the evil queen.”

“Henry, that's nonsense.”

“No one else will believe me, but I know you know what I'm talking about. Emma doesn't even believe me, but she will.”

“Now, Henry, I don't want you spending time with Miss Swan.”

“Why? She's my _mom_.”

“ _I'm_ your mother.”

“Whatever. Can I go back to school now?”

Regina instantly felt a pang in her heart at his dismissal and sighed, hurt.

“Okay,” Regina agreed after a moment.

She took Henry back for the hour and half left before school let out and went back when needed to pick him up. He didn't talk to her when she brought him home for the night and she tried not to cry as she felt him slipping even further from her grasp.

She had no choice but to give Henry his space, especially if it helped her find her way back into his life.

She waited a few hours before she went to the station in hopes to get Graham to make her feel better. To her surprise, Graham was already putting on his jacket in unison with Emma adjusting hers. She frowned as she watched them smile at each other before walking out of his office and into the hallway.

“Graham? I just stopped by to see if you'd like to have dinner,” Regina spoke up before the two of them had the chance to notice her.

“Uh, sorry, Regina. I kind of already made plans with Emma.”

“When,” she incredulously asked as her anger resurfaced.

“This morning. At the start of shift,” Emma replied with a wicked glint in her eyes as she sported a wolf grin.

Regina gritted her teeth and tried to melt Emma's face with her intense, hate-filled stare as the younger woman clearly tried to upset her.

“Maybe some other time,” Graham said as he headed for the door.

Emma slowly followed after him, her eyes never breaking contact with Regina's.

Regina gripped Emma's forearm and dug her nails into the milky skin.

Emma stopped, but didn't bother to look at Regina that time as she focused on the corner Graham had disappeared behind.

Their hips nearly touched with the proximity, but Regina was careful to only get a hold of Emma's arm and nothing else.

“Stay away from Graham. And stay away from Henry,” Regina snarled, her hot breath hitting Emma's ear through her loose golden curls.

Emma turned to look at Regina and smirked.

“Make me,” she goaded.

Emma yanked her arm away from Regina and coolly walked away.

Regina spun on her heels to watch the blonde leave, seething.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Emma sat at a small, round dinner table next to Graham in his quaint but nice apartment, the lights romantically dim. He'd made a simple yet tasteful dinner she couldn't get enough of and talked with her about everything and nothing.

He tried to ask her several things about Henry and why she gave him up, but she didn't really want to talk about that part of her life. Graham backed off, but it seemed to him that anything about the blonde before she came into town was off limits as far as discussion went. He understood keeping the past a secret, especially since Regina was one to keep most things about herself to herself no matter how close Graham tried to get in order to save their relationship. A relationship Emma didn't understand.

“So...why do you even bother with Regina? Do you really think she loves you?”

“No, but I don't think I love her either.”

“Then what's up with you two? She doesn't even respect you.”

“I don't know. I've just felt...obedient to her, loyal, for as long I can remember.”

“And you don't doubt that that's not a healthy relationship?”

“I have my doubts, but...there's just...it's like, when I'm with her I can't leave her.”

“Is it pity,” Emma asked, desperately trying to figure out what was so special about the Mayor.

Graham shook his head.

“No, no it's not that. I...when I go to see her, at first I feel an attraction, but then it's all on the surface. Before I know it, it's like I'm in a trance and all I can do is please her.”

“Ew,” Emma tried to keep down the food she'd finished a few minutes ago as she cringed at his admission.

Graham chuckled.

“Sorry. I really shouldn't be talking about being with other women during a date with someone who isn't her.”

“Again, who said this was a date,” Emma flashed a reassuring smile.

Graham smiled and nodded.

“So...if that's all you feel, which by the way isn't much of a feeling if you ask me, then why don't you just leave her,” Emma said as she picked up her glass of wine from the table and took a sip.

“It's not that simple.”

“Sure it is,” Emma said after a moment as she set down her glass of wine and slowly leaned in toward Graham.

Her kiss fell on his lips sweetly, chaste and soft unlike Regina's kisses. Though her lips were also soft and delicate, he didn't feel the same connection with her as he did with Emma. He didn't feel obligated to be with the blonde. He felt wanted with Emma, not used like he realized Regina left him feeling every night that he discretely left her house.

Emma pulled away, though her kiss still lingered between them.

“Hmm,” Emma hummed as she looked into his eyes.

When they met each others' gaze, Emma immediately felt guilty as much as she felt awkward. Her heart raced as she tried to figure out what to do until she tried to do the thing she was best at: run.

“I should...go,” Emma hitched a thumb over her shoulder toward the door before she slowly got to her feet.

She turned and took a single step forward when Graham grabbed her wrist, causing her to stop before she took another step. She stayed completely still for a quick moment before Graham pulled her back toward him.

His force made Emma spin around to face him. He stood up and met her lips with his in one fluid movement as he wrapped one hand around her waist, his other hand slowly losing grip of her wrist. He moved that hand to cup her face, his fingers tangling in golden curls.

She clung to his shirt at his chest and held him close as he started to deepen the kiss. She felt one hand roam from her waist over her lower back, and the other down her face to her neck then down further to graze over her breast. She arched her back when the pad of his thumb ran down her nipple and pushed their stomachs flush against each other.

Their belt buckles clanged against and caught on each other as Emma and Graham moved together. Graham backed up, his hands still around Emma, and led them to the couch. He sat down and brought Emma down on top of him.

She instinctively straddled his lap, still fuzed in a kiss though it'd turned into more teeth than lips as they fell onto the couch. The sweetness as well as the passion returned though, as Emma rested her hands on Graham's shoulders, his hands squeezing her hips as he lifted her and broke their kiss.

His lips traveled to Emma's neck and made Emma whimper when his kissed her pulse point.

She tilted her head back a bit to expose more skin to him, feel a harder touch of his lips as he kissed and sucked for several minutes. She removed her right hand from his shoulder and ran it through her hair to pull her curls away from her neck and give Graham further access as she swept her center against the growing sign of affection hidden under his jeans.

She gasped as he nipped at her neck and massaged one of her breasts with his hand. She gulped as she looked up at the ceiling. It'd been a while since she'd been that close to anyone, since she'd made much physical contact with someone that wasn't job related in the field of bounty hunting.

He broke the kiss momentarily as he flipped her onto her back on the couch. He kept a hand on her knee and held it up at his waist to do two things: make sure her leg didn't fall off the couch, and keep them pressed firmly together for more friction.

He kissed her lips again and she parted her lips. He slipped his tongue past her alluring pink lips and moved against her.

She arched her back again and broke their kiss as she extended her neck once more. He took the hint and moved back to her pulse point. They stayed like that, moving together as he feverishly kissed her neck for minutes at a time.

When his fingers sunk between her tight denim jeans as he coiled his hand around her belt buckle, she shot her hand to cover his and pulled it away. Her eyes were wide open then as he moved away from her neck to look at her.

“I... We shouldn't,” she breathlessly started. “You're my boss and...things could get weird. Plus, Regina...”

“You didn't care about Regina when you asked me out.”

Emma shook her head.

“This is...it's moving too fast. ...I can't. I need to go.”

Emma pushed him off of her and smoothed out her shirt then grabbed her jacket off the chair she left it on. She opened the door and looked over her shoulder at Graham as he remained on the couch running a hand through his hair and licking his lips.

Emma took a deep breath and left, not letting out that breath until she shut the door and took her first step toward the entrance of the building.

The next morning Mary Margaret unintentionally woke Emma on her way out the door. She was off to work and had accidentally shut a few cupboards too hard for Emma's liking at such an early hour in the day.

When Mary Margaret closed the door, it swung shut with a little more force than either woman wanted and Emma was wide awake then. She slowly sat up, felling sluggish and groggy like most mornings, especially mornings in which her sleep was interrupted.

She shuffled to the kitchen and rubbed her eyes as she tried to focus on where she was walking instead of feeling like she was stumbling through heavy clouds.

She opened the pantry and grabbed one of the two boxes of cereal then took a bowl out of one of the cabinets. She placed the bowl on the island and poured out the cereal. It barely made half a bowl and she frowned as she looked into the box to make sure it really was empty. She tossed the box into the trash and went to the fridge. She pulled out the gallon of milk that was almost completely gone and took a quick sip as she headed back to her bowl.

Immediately after the liquid touched her tongue, she placed a hand over her mouth and cringed as she rushed to the sink and spit it out. She ran the water and cupped a hand underneath the faucet then drank what little she'd collected in the one hand. She put her hand back under the faucet and collected more water that she then swished around in her mouth and spit back out, desperate to get the taste of the milk out of her mouth.

No matter how much water she consumed, the milk still lingered in the deepest corners of her mouth.

She turned off the faucet when she came to that realization and lifted the gallon of milk to eye level. She checked the expiration date printed on the side and noticed she'd just had a taste of five day old milk.

She dumped out the rest of the gallon and watched as some of it slipped out of the container like fresh milk while most of it sloshed out in clumps, clearly curdled. The wretched smell weakened Emma's gag reflex and it took all the strength she had so early in the morning to not throw up last night's dinner.

She disposed of the empty gallon and looked at the digital clock on the microwave.

_7:47am._

She was supposed to be at work in forty-three minutes, but as she inspected the kitchen she noted how little she and Mary Margaret had to eat. If there even was food in the refrigerator or the pantry or even in the cupboards, at least half of it was inedible due to past expiration dates.

She groaned and figured the best course of action would be to solve that problem first. The super market didn't open until eight so she jumped into the shower to pass the time before she could head out and replenish the sad, food-less apartment.

After she dried her hair in only jeans and a black bra, she checked the time on her alarm clock while the bathroom mirror was fogged up by the steam from her shower.

_8:04am._

She was running out of time. She sighed and flipped her unruly curls around a few times, trying to make herself look presentable. She grabbed he cell phone off her nightstand and sent a text to Graham.

_'Might be late. Need to get a few groceries. Sorry.'_

She didn't pay too much attention to the phone in wait for Graham's response as she threw on a fairly transparent white top and slid into her usual boots.

She pulled back a small portion of her hair into a loose ponytail as she allowed the rest of her hair to fall around her shoulders and drape over her chest. She looked herself over in the less foggy mirror and noticed a red and purple mark on her neck. She sighed and flicked a few strands over her chest to cover it up. She picked out her blue leather jacket from the closet and headed out the door with her car keys and wallet in hand, no purse on her shoulder and nothing in her pockets.

As she parked outside of the store, her phone buzzed with a reply from Graham.

_8:20am._

She turned off her Volkswagen bug and sat in the car to read the text.

_'No problem. See you when you get in.'_

She shoved the phone into her jacket pocket and proceeded into the store.

She went blindly through the aisles trying to find the basics of what she and Mary Margaret needed as well searching high and low for generic brands to keep within her extremely low budget. If she'd have gone to college, she would've probably felt her voyage similar to living off a college kid's budget of Ramen noodles and other cheap pasta.

With a few items in her hand, she stared at the section of soups as she reached the end of an aisle. Without looking in front of her, she rounded the corner to make her way to the next and collided with someone.

The two of them grunted upon impact as Emma dropped her groceries and accidentally knocked an open bottle of water out of the other person's hand. Everything landed on the titled floor in a wet mess and immediately, they both reached down to retrieve their things before taking notice of the other person's identity.

“I'm sorry,” Emma started as she crouched down and reached for the water first. Her hand met the other person's hand and the two finally looked up at each other.

“Oh,” Emma said as she immediately took her hand back.

Regina looked over at her with a clenched jaw and slightly pursed lips, her eyes intensely locked on Emma's.

“Of course it's you,” Regina growled as she picked up her water before much of it could escape from the bottle.

She stood up and Emma followed her with her eyes, never breaking their gaze.

Emma couldn't think of anything to say. Even if she apologized, she knew it wouldn't help. She'd gone out with Graham the previous night even after Regina warned her to stay away. She knew Regina knew she'd done it and a simple apology wouldn't get her out of the dog house with the brunette no matter how many times she said the words.

But Emma didn't feel like she had much to apologize for anyway. She'd purposely defied Regina's orders and got the exact reaction she wanted out of the Mayor. There was no taking it back even if she felt it was the right thing to do.

“Relax,” Emma decided to go in a more forceful, unapologetic direction with her tone of voice as well as her actions as she picked up her things. “It's just water. I'm sure you've got plenty at home.”

When she looked back up at Regina, she suddenly realized how tired and drained Regina appeared, still presentable but probably in need of that water.

Regina used the hem of her shirt to wipe off the rim of the water bottle and took a long sip from it. Without realizing it, Regina's eyes wandered down Emma's body and took notice of the black bra she could make out through the thin, white fabric of the younger woman's shirt.

“You should watch where you're going, Miss Swan,” Regina bitterly managed after she swallowed and lowered the water from her mouth, a basket with a few items resting on her right forearm.

Emma grabbed the last grocery she'd lost control of and flipped her hair with a swivel of her head to get a few rogue strands out of her face.

In the process she uncovered the right side of her neck and drew Regina's eyes to Emma's fresh hickey.

Regina's lips parted as she stared at it for a moment before Emma realized what the problem was, feeling the the cold air from the nearby produce section run across her exposed neck.

Emma's eyes went wide as Regina looked from the hickey to Emma with an angry glint in her dark, coal-like eyes. Emma hadn't known Regina long, but she'd seen enough of the woman to know her eyes were hazel and not normally the near pitch black they were at that moment.

“Uh, I've got to go,” Emma awkwardly said as she scrambled out of Regina's way and hurried to the register, not getting everything she'd planned to when she left the apartment.

Regina let out a slow sigh through her nose as she clenched her fist around her water and crushed it, the rest of the water inside splashing out over the top of the recycled plastic. She looked pale and sickly, but she no longer felt that way as rage boiled in the pit of her stomach.

Emma didn't want to run away from Regina. She wanted to upset the brunette, but the look in Regina's eyes sent shivers down her spine. She couldn't help but do what she was used to, what she almost did last night at Graham's before he pulled her into a kiss and got her to stay longer than intended.

She bought her pathetic amount of groceries and dropped them off at the apartment before she grabbed one of her newly purchased Pop Tarts and a can of soda that had already started to warm up by the time she headed to the station. 

She walked in with a worried though less shocked expression, Graham sitting at her desk.

“Hey,” Graham happily greeted before he saw the look on Emma's face. “What's wrong?”

“Regina.”

Graham frowned.

“It's not even nine o'clock. How is she already a problem?”

“I ran into her at the store.”

“Oh.”

“But running into her wasn't the problem. This,” Emma said as she swept her hair behind her shoulders to show him the hickey. “Was the problem.”

“Oh,” he said in more of an “ah-ha” way that time, but kept calm. “It'll be fine.”

“Really, because right now it's a nightmare.”

Graham got up from her desk and grabbed a doughnut from a box Emma had failed to notice until his hand slipped inside it.

He walked over to her and placed his left arm on her bicep as he held out a bear claw. The doughnut was inches from her mouth as he smiled and kept it in reach while he tried to calm her down.

“You're tough. Tougher than Regina because she has to hide behind her job title. You fight everyday in ways Regina never has to. You're better than her. ...Now eat the bear claw. It'll make you feel better.”

Emma slowly smiled as she took the doughnut between her index finger and thumb.

“You don't know that it'll help,” Emma made her eyes into slits as she grinned up at him then took a bite.

“Last night I asked you if you had a habit of bringing donuts for breakfast and not real food, you said donuts are real food. I also noticed that you get a few different kinds of donuts but only seem to go after the bear claws. If a bear claw doesn't make you feel better, I doubt much else will.”

Emma laughed.

“Nice to know after twenty-eight years and all the people I've talked to, you listen,” she sweetly said before she took another bite of the doughnut.

Graham smiled again and lowered his hand from her bicep to her hip and pulled her against him. He kissed her seconds after she'd managed to swallow and shared the sugary taste of the bear claw with her.

They kept the kiss short but lingering as they broke it and smiled at each other, still close.

Without warning, the door to the station burst open and Regina sauntered in like she owned the place, which, even though she was Mayor, she didn't own anything in the town. Mr. Gold did.

“Graham,” Regina practically barked as she kept a fist clenched around her purse strap.

Emma immediately tensed at the sound of her demanding tone.

Graham's chest deflated in a silent sigh as he directed his attention to the brunette behind Emma.

“Yes, Regina.”

“I have a bit of problem and I need your help.”

“My help specifically? Why not Emma?”

Emma tried not to scoff as she dropped her jaw and stared up at Graham with wide eyes.

When Graham looked down at her, she mouthed, “Unbelievable.”

Graham grinned as he stifled a chuckle then looked back over at Regina.

“No, Miss Swan couldn't assist me even if this was something anyone else but you could handle,” Regina quipped.

Emma smirked. She liked that personal attack for two reasons. One, she enjoyed the thought of Regina's face after proving her wrong and two, it flat out stated that Emma was beneath even Regina's messes.

Well played, Emma thought.

“You could've called,” Graham said as he stepped around Emma, which caused the blonde to follow him.

She turned and faced Regina to keep close to and involved with Graham.

“I thought the situation would be best discussed in the car on the way to my office,” Regina said before her eyes strayed to Emma.

Something about the way the brunette stared at her brought back her confidence. The Emma that fled the super market not too long ago was gone and the confrontational Emma was in the building.

She freed what hair had been swept into a ponytail and ran her hand through her curly locks, exposing her hickey as she moved to stand by Graham.

“You should go. Regina clearly needs an extra pair of hands and I think yours are right for any job,” Emma said as she looked from Graham to Regina.

Regina felt her heart pound harder in her chest as her blood started to rise. Emma had successfully gotten under her skin once again.

Graham remained oblivious to the war between the two women and furrowed his brow as he contemplated what to do.

“Can you take over for a while,” Graham asked Emma after he took a moment to look Regina over.

Emma nodded.

Graham looked at the mark he'd made on her neck and flashed a subtle smile. He took her hand in his and gently squeezed.

“Thanks,” he said before he let go of her hand and walked in Regina's direction.

Regina smiled at him and waited for him to pass her before she looked at Emma with darkened eyes.

Emma stood tall, defiant, and grinned like she knew she'd won that round.

Regina turned on her heel and followed Graham out, unable to say anything to Emma with him in earshot.

Instead, she dragged Graham away from Emma and brought him into her office. She locked the door and told her receptionist to hold her calls for the day, trapping Graham into pleasing her once again.

At that point, she wasn't using him to feel satisfied. She used him to get back at Emma. After all the times she'd used him for his body, though, the weaker she would get when she wasn't getting laid.

As she stripped him, her eyes flashed purple like they had a few times before when she was with him. Her honey-crisp apple tree showed signs of decay in the yard behind the building until she threw her head back in pleasure. Graham fully submitted to her will, giving her everything she needed, the apples went from brown to red in a matter of seconds.

Her eyes glowed for a longer period of time as the color returned to her face and her nails clawed his exposed chest, raking down to his abs the brighter the apples became and stronger her eyes glowed.

She felt a surge of power rush through her and reveled in the new found energy she had.

After a couple hours, Emma spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to forward all the station's calls to her cell. She'd finished all the bear claws about forty minutes after Graham left with Regina and couldn't bare another minute without something more substantial in her stomach.

She grabbed her jacket off the back of her desk chair and made sure to lock up behind herself when she left. She sent Graham a quick text to let him know all of that and headed over to Granny's for a bite to eat.

Ruby flashed her incisors in a large smile when she saw Emma walk through the diner door. She finished topping off a customer's cup of coffee and went back behind the counter.

Emma smiled back at Ruby as she took a seat in the far corner of the bar, closest to the door, and waited for the woman with the red streak in her hair to approach her.

Ruby replaced the coffee pot back under the filter of the machine and strode over to Emma in a few hip swaying steps.

“Hey, Ruby,” Emma nearly laughed as the brunette set her palms face down on the counter top and knowingly smiled at Emma.

“Hey, new friend. You're really stirring up trouble around here.”

“Am I.”

Ruby nodded.

“You're all anyone can talk about lately.”

“And what are they saying?”

“Oh, just that you're new to town and you've already got a death wish.”

Emma shook her head and chortled.

“People think you're crazy for standing in Regina's way. No one knows what the real problem is between you too, but everyone's noticed the death glares that woman gives you. Plus, we all know you're Henry's real mom.”

“Birth mom,” Emma corrected. “Biological but not 'real' mom.”

Ruby frowned.

“Don't get me wrong,” Emma quickly defended. “That kid's growing on me, but Regina's the one that's done all the mothering. I haven't been in his life for more than three days. I don't qualify as his real mom.”

“Oh, no. She's gotten to you,” Ruby said.

“What? Who?”

“Regina. She has you thinking she's his real mother, doesn't she.”

Emma shook her head.

“No, I knew what I was doing when I gave him up for adoption. I couldn't take care of myself let alone a little boy so I gave him a chance, his best chance.”

“Uh, we are talking about Regina, right? The Mayor of this depressed little town? She's not his _best_ chance by a long shot.”

“Ruby-”

“No, I'm not trying to start a fight...with you _or_ her. But I don't really agree that she's what's best for him.”

“He's been fine so far, right? No trouble at school, not getting into any fights? ...He's not like me?”

Ruby's jaw dropped as she sympathetically looked at Emma.

“That's what you want for him? You think his best chance is not growing up to be like you?”

Emma stared silently at Ruby for a moment then nodded and looked down at the counter top.

“Oh, Emma. Whatever part of you you're afraid of him becoming, I haven't seen it. For not knowing Henry very well, you brought him back to Storybrooke and you could've just left. But you didn't. You could've gone in the middle of the night without saying goodbye.”

“I did. I just...he left his book in my car and I had to-”

“But you stayed,” Ruby cut her off. “It doesn't matter that you were leaving town. You said he left his book with you? You could've mailed it.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that? I didn't know Regina's address and it's not like we exchanged phone numbers after we met.”

“But that wasn't your only option. You returned the book, right? Mary Margaret said you could live with her and then Graham offered you a job. Both offers you could've easily turned down, but you didn't. You stayed.”

Emma slowly smiled as she took a deep breath and nodded.

“Thanks, Ruby.”

Ruby smiled.

“No problem. I only spoke the truth.”

Emma puffed out a sigh and scooped up her hair. She tossed it behind her shoulders without thinking until Ruby gasped then grinned.

“Oh my god,” Ruby excitedly stated as she looked from Emma's neck to her face. “That's a hickey!”

Ruby slowly reached out to touch it.

“Shh,” Emma said as she covered it with her hair and grabbed Ruby's hand before it got any closer to her neck.

“Who's fine oral work is that,” Ruby asked as she took her hand back from Emma and leaned over the counter.

“I...was with Graham last night,” Emma confessed after a short moment.

“Scandalous! Tell me _everything_.”

“We didn't do anything,” Emma said. “We kissed...a few times.”

“Yeah right,” Ruby laughed. “You don't get a hickey by just kissing a few times. What else?”

“I'm serious. We kissed. That was it.”

“Really,” Ruby suddenly seemed less interested and a little bummed.

“Well, it's not like they were harmless, tiny kisses,” Emma hinted.

Ruby grinned, revealing her sharp incisors once again with her trademark wolf grin.

“I knew it. Emma Swan, you are a slut,” she joked with the blonde.

Emma chuckled.

“I should probably get back to the station. This isn't an official lunch break so if Graham gets back before I do it could be bad news.”

“Please. If that happens, all you've gotta do is show a little cleavage. Bend over to pick up a pencil or something and give him a good view,” Ruby informed her like she'd done it a hundred times.

Emma chortled.

“I'll see you later, Ruby. Thanks for the talk.”

“Any time.”

Emma headed back to the station, half expecting Graham to be in his office staring down at mundane paperwork, but she spotted Henry waiting outside the station doors instead.

“Kid! What are you doing here?”

“I tried to wait inside, but the doors are locked,” he said as Emma walked toward him.

“Don't you have school?”

“Of course. I'm only ten.”

“Then why aren't you there?”

“Because I wanted to see you.”

“Okay, but you can do that _after_ school.”

Henry shook his head.

“No. This way my mom doesn't have to know we're hanging out together.”

“Oh, so you just want to hide this from her.”

“Yeah.”

“That's not okay, Henry, especially if you're gonna miss school to do it.”

“I have to make sure my mom doesn't know I'm with you because she can do way more than anyone thinks.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think she can use magic here. When she cursed the kingdom, there wasn't supposed to be any magic in the other world.”

“Not this again,” Emma grumbled.

“But the other night when Graham came over...I heard something.”

Emma's eyes widened.

“Uh, yeah...Henry, that's not magic, that's, uh-”

“No, I'm telling you it's magic. Every time I heard a noise, the lights flickered.”

Emma was thoroughly confused, though she was still pretty sure Henry had heard Regina and Graham having sex.

“Henry, I'm sure there's just something wrong with the circuit breaker. Some faulty or crossed wires. Anything but magic.”

Henry shook his head.

“Fine. Don't believe me, but I know what I saw.”

“That's what I'm worried about. Come on, back to school,” Emma led Henry out to her car.

“My mom can use magic. I don't know how, but she can. She has. Ask Graham. She only uses it when he's at the house at night as far as I can tell.”

Emma furrowed her brow and frowned as she thought about it for a moment.

She shook her head as she freed the thought from her mind and drove Henry back to school.

After Emma had returned from taking Henry back, Graham had finally managed to beat her back to the station. They didn't talk about what he'd done while he was with Regina because Emma had a well-developed guess in mind.

Instead, the two of them worked quietly for the next few hours. Closer to dinner time, Emma finally decided to speak up. She got up from her desk and stood in the doorway to Graham's office, his door open in case he was needed.

“Listen, I don't want to know what happened between you and Regina today because...it's not any of my business. I just think...we can still talk...about other stuff.”

“I honestly couldn't tell you what happened today even if I wanted to talk about it. Everything happened so fast...I didn't have time to process how I felt about being with her. I just...I like being with you. Last night was...it was the first time in a long time I actually enjoyed myself.”

“Thanks,” Emma awkwardly formed the word into a question, unsure how she was supposed to interpret his admission.

“Not necessarily sexually either,” Graham clarified with a smile. “Generally speaking. Spending time with you, I feel...relaxed, happy.”

Emma smiled as she then looked down at her boots, shifting from one foot to the other.

Graham smirked as he got up from his desk and walked to the doorway, admiring the cute side of Emma that stood in front of him.

“And...how exactly did I make you happy,” Emma coyly smiled as she slowly looked up at him, taking in his full frame from his shoes to his eyes.

“Why don't I remind you,” he said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss.

After a chaste kiss, Emma parted her lips and Graham slid his tongue past them. The instant her chest expanded against his, a flash of memory came back to him, something from his distant past.

He saw himself hunting a wolf, but instead of killing it when he had the chance he looked into its eyes.

The wolf led him through a forest. Graham could feel himself approaching something he felt he'd been missing for a while, but couldn't put his finger on what it was he'd missed.

The more he kissed and touched Emma, the more he remembered. He pressed her against the door frame and sandwiched her between it and himself. He tangled a hand in her hair and kissed her harder.

He could hear a distinct beating in his ear the closer he got to his final destination when following the wolf. Stuck between his past and the present, he felt Emma's heart beat against his warming skin as he saw a special identifying mark above a mausoleum. The wolf stood still in front of the place as an indication that Graham had found what he'd been searching for.

Suddenly, he saw a hand reach into his chest and rip his heart out. His heart glowed in the hands of someone he couldn't recognize, but he didn't think that mattered when he realized not only what he was missing, but where it was.

He pushed away from Emma and took in a deep breath, wide eyed out of shock.

“Graham? What is it? What's wrong,” Emma asked as she furrowed her brow.

“My heart.”

“Wha- Are you okay,” Emma started to panic as she reached out to touch his chest.

“I remember. Someone took my heart and I finally know where it is,” he said as he started to look unwell, a little deranged as he headed for the exit.

“What,” Emma asked, unable to make any sense out of what Graham had said.

Graham flew out of the station like a bat out of hell and ran full force to the cemetery.

Emma blindly followed him, concerned about the crazy look in his eyes as he took off. She was afraid of what he might do or what accident he could get into with his confusing tunnel vision. It was the only thing she understood out of his babbling. He was out to find his heart and that seemed to be the only thing he was aware of.

Within a few minutes, Emma was out of breath a few feet behind Graham as he stood before the mausoleum, the unique circular symbol he'd seen in his vision marking the location.

“It's here. I can feel it. This is where...” he trailed off as Emma took his hand in hers.

“Graham...”

He pushed forward, slipping right out of Emma's gentle grip, lost in his thoughts.

She frowned, but followed him inside.

“It's got to be in here,” he said as he frantically tried to open the rectangular cement shaped like the drawers he'd seen in his vision. “I know it's here!”

“Graham, please. There's nothing here. Let's just go, okay?”

Graham tried to calm down. He took a few deep breaths as his pupils returned to their normal size. When he finally started to relax, he nodded then looked up at Emma.

After a moment of looking into her eyes as she reassuringly smiled at him, he pulled her into a kiss.

Her eyebrows shot into her hairline though she'd closed her eyes and accepted the kiss.

“Thank you,” he said after he broke their kiss.

“Mhmm,” Emma barely managed to say looking like a deer caught in headlights as she held her fingers less than inch from her lips.

Graham took the hand she kept at her side and guided her out of the mausoleum. Along the short way, Emma dropped her other hand to her side seconds before they emerged from the confined area.

“Well, if it isn't Romeo and Juliet,” Regina harshly said as Graham stopped himself and Emma before they nearly collided with her.

“What are you doing here,” Graham asked.

“Bring flowers to my father's gave,” Regina angrily stated as she raised the flowers up to her chest as proof. “Like I do every Wednesday. I don't suppose you two came here for the same thing.”

“Don't blame her,” Graham started as he approached the brunette. “I wanted to look in there.”

“Really? Why? ….What were you looking for?”

Graham paused before answering.

“Nothing.”

Emma rolled her eyes and came to stand by Graham.

“Really, it was nothing.”

“You don't look well,” Regina looked him over. “Let's take you home.”

Regina took Graham by the hand and led him away from the mausoleum, but Graham refused.

“I-I don't want to go home,” he said as he pulled his hand out of Regina's grasp. “Not with you.”

Emma's jaw dropped and her eyes widened as surprised as Regina at that point. She quickly looked from Graham to Regina.

“Oh? But you'll go with her.”

Regina growled as she kept her eyes fixed on Graham.

“Hey, this is between you two,” Emma spoke up, hands in her jacket pockets. “Leave me out of it.”

Regina slowly looked over at Emma, the blonde tempting fate as far as Regina was concerned.

“She's right,” Graham defended. “It's between us and things have changed.”

“And I wonder why that is all of a sudden,” Regina said as she looked back at Graham and stepped closer to him.

“It has nothing to do with her. You know, I realized that I don't feel anything, Regina? And I know now it's not me. It's you.”

“So you're leaving me for her.”

“I'm leaving you for me.”

Emma was shocked but happy Graham had stood up to her. She was glad to not be the only one with the balls to stand up to the high and mighty Regina.

“Graham, you're not thinking straight,” Regina softened her tone as she attempted to close the space between them.

“Actually, for the first time I am. I'd rather have nothing than settle for less. Nothing is better than what we have.”

Regina's eyes were watery though she loathed showing weakness. The worst part about the things Graham said to her was that he'd said it in front of Emma. If it had just been her alone in a room with him, it would still hurt to hear those things, but at least she wouldn't be humiliated in front of someone she wanted to control.

“I need to feel, Regina, and the way to do that is to give myself a chance,” Graham continued.

Emma smiled for a fleeting second.

Regina reached out and touched his chest, but the instant her fingertips felt the fabric of his shirt, he pulled back.

“I'm sorry. ...It's over.”

Regina took a step back and lightly scoffed.

Emma took a subtle deep breath as she kept her eyes on Graham.

When Graham looked back at Emma, it set the older woman off.

“I don't know what I ever did to you, Miss Swan, to deserve this,” Regina started to play the victim but maintain the upper hand. “To keep coming after everything I hold dear.”

“I told you it's not her,” Graham tried to explain once again.

“None of this happened until she got here,” her commanding voice returned as she couldn't even bare to look at Graham.

“I'm sorry, have you ever started to think that maybe the problem isn't with me, but with you,” Emma defended herself, her hands now on her hips as opposed to in her pockets.

“Excuse me,” Regina asked in a low tone as she looked over at Emma.

“Henry came and found me,” Emma started as she walked behind Graham and stopped to stand on his other side, closer to Regina.

“Graham kissed me,” she started to grin.

She didn't know what had gotten into her, but Emma knew what she was about to say would get Regina back for her comments made during dinner when all she wanted to do was spend time with Henry. She knew it would inspire more than an angry look in Regina's eyes.

“Both were miserable. Maybe, _Madame Mayor,_ you need to take a good hard look in the mirror and ask yourself why that is? Why is everyone running away from you.”

Regina flashed Emma a brief grin then threw one hard punch and hit Emma in the face.

Emma fell onto Graham and sent him to the ground. She pushed off of him, never falling to ground, and took a quick breath as she turned back to Regina. She spent less than a second staring at Regina and didn't hold back as she returned the punch.

Regina grunted as the force of Emma's fist turned her around, her back to the blonde.

Emma liked how it felt to finally make one of their fights physical. She didn't understand why that was since she'd only had so many arguments with the woman, but it felt good to get even.

Without another thought, Emma grabbed Regina from behind and spun her around. She slammed the older woman against the mausoleum wall and prepared to hit Regina again.

Graham finally stepped in and pulled her off Regina, but the blonde was ready to go. She wanted the fight. She was raised for the fight, always having to defend herself from a very young age.

She turned her body every which way as Graham held her at her shoulders, a firm grip she needed to break out of. She elbowed him in the chest as Regina moved away from the wall and sent Graham down on his knees coughing.

Emma yelled as she lunged at Regina and threw her against the wall again.

Regina hit the wall with a grunt and tried to protectively raise her hands, but Emma was too quick.

The blonde threw another punch, but decided to hit Regina in the stomach. But as the brunette squirmed against her, Emma ended up hitting Regina's ribs.

Regina yelped as she keeled over and held her injured side. With the limited distance between them, her face came daringly close to Emma's breasts.

“You want a fight,” Emma growled in Regina's ear, panting. “Whatever you want, Regina. I'll give you a good time.”

Regina charged Emma like a football player and tackled her to the ground.

Emma landed on her back with a thud, her curls carelessly falling around her face as the air left her lungs.

Regina straddled Emma's stomach and wrapped her hand around the blonde's tender neck.

Emma scrunched up her face as she felt Regina increase the pressure on her windpipe. She instinctively clawed at Regina's hands in order to breathe again, but her strength was dwindling as her vision went dark from the lack of oxygen.

She faintly heard a cough before her neck was jolted to the side and air refilled her lungs. She took too deep a breath and coughed as she slowly sat up, her fingertips gently resting on her neck as she looked over at Regina.

Graham wrapped the brunette in his arms in a position close to a headlock as Regina gradually gave up fighting for freedom.

Regina regained control of her breathing and glared at Emma with dark eyes.

Emma didn't recognize the look on Regina, but she could feel the aggression flow from the brunette to her as Graham kept them separated.

Emma used both hands to push herself off the ground and onto her feet. She wobbled a bit once she stood up, but she didn't let it slow her down as she approached Regina in her vulnerable state in Graham's arms.

“You got lucky, Miss Swan,” Regina spoke before Emma had the chance.

“When and where, Regina,” Emma shook her head. “Just say the word and I'll take you on.”

“Emma,” Graham warned.

Emma didn't pay him any attention as she invaded Regina's personal space. She looked at Regina's bloody bottom lip.

Graham slowly let go of Regina and the two of them breathed the same air of their own accord.

Emma lifted her right index to Regina's swollen lip and roughly ran her finger across it.

Regina winced.

Emma had transferred the blood onto her finger and showed it to Regina before she licked it clean.

Regina's heart pounded a little harder in chest as she watched, but not out of anger that time. Something else. Excitement.

Emma grinned as she brought her hand back down to her side then turned and walked away.

Graham watched Emma take a few steps before Regina snatched her flattened flowers off the ground.

She made a sound of discomfort as she bent over, but turned to Graham after a moment of watching Emma leave.

“Graham?”

Graham looked back at Regina as she took a step closer to him, but he didn't want anything to do with her. Instead, he followed after Emma and left Regina with mixed feelings swirling around inside of her like when adding and blending ingredients to a potion.

Graham made it back to the station less than a minute after Emma. The blonde had already grabbed the First Aid Kit, but hadn't started to do much with it before he joined her in the work room.

“Here,” he offered as he approached her. “Let me help.”

He stood in front of her as she sat down on the edge of her desk.

He took the gauze out of Emma's hand and dampened it with Neosporin. He applied it to her face just below her left eyebrow, split and bleeding skin caused by Regina's ring near her already present scar. 

Emma hissed as the anti-bacterial stung her. 

“Sorry,” Graham apologized. 

“Why? You're not the one that hit me,” she said, her voice raspy and strained.

Graham applied a little more pressure to thoroughly clean the wound and protect it against infection. 

“Ow,” Emma tensed and pulled away from him. 

While Graham tended to her wounds, Regina walked into the mausoleum and stared down at her father's final resting place. She set the flowers on top of the concrete surface and took a deep breath before she pushed it out of the way. 

She dusted off her hands and composed herself before she walked down the stairs beneath the mausoleum floor. She was in no rush to do what she was about to do, tears forming in her eyes as she thought about her father and her former finance Daniel from her old life. The two people most important to her back then, both suffering the same fate though at different hands. She couldn't deny the similarities between herself and the person that took Daniel from her, but she could see the differences between what happened to Daniel and her father to the situation she faced in Storybrooke. 

Graham handed Emma a bag of ice he'd collected from the small ice machine by the water cooler. She carefully held it against the side of her left eye to keep the swelling down, a black eye inevitable after the beating she took.

“Thanks,” Emma winced under the cold and jagged feel of the ice against a then sensitive part of her body. 

“I can't believe you hit her,” Graham started as he thought about it. 

“Yeah, well, I was getting really tired of her thinking I can't handle her uptight and privileged ass,” Emma softly replied, her voice gravelly at that point. 

Graham smiled at her.

She smiled back and lowered the bag of ice. 

“What,” she innocently asked. 

He closed the little space between them and placed his hand under her forearm. He sweetly guided her to her feet and leaned in to kiss her. 

Regina opened one of the several drawers lining the wall underground. She lifted the box from inside and lowered it to chest level. She grinned as she took the glowing heart out of the box and held it in her hands. 

Her grin slowly faded as she turned the heart from one side to the next, inspecting it. All she wanted was for someone to love her, someone to want her and need her after all she'd lost. It'd been a lonely twenty-eight years since she'd invoked the dark curse, though she'd been lonely long before then. 

Just as she'd collected hearts, they were never enough to sustain the emptiness she felt in hers. She'd been warned about that before she took back the curse from an old friend, but she refused to listen. She'd been desperate to win, desperate to feel something other than anger and sorrow. 

As she stared at the heart in her hands, a few tears streamed down her cheeks leaving salted streaks on her face. 

She took a deep breath and squeezed. 

Graham's lips had just touched Emma's as the two of them decided to move slower than they had when they'd first kissed. Though their lips were parted, they kept their tongues to themselves even as Graham initiated a second kiss. 

Emma broke their kiss but kept her lips close to his. 

Her hot breath on his skin made Graham brush his lips against hers, though careful not to anything more. Not yet. 

After Emma's breath hitched at the soft touch of their lips hardly making any contact, he pressed his lips to hers in an actual kiss. 

Regina's grip on the heart started off faint and grew until her delicate hand turned into an organ-crushing fist. Blood stained her smooth, blemish-free face from her bottom lip halfway down to her chin. The heart glowed redder the tighter she held it.

Graham suddenly felt a pain in his chest and rushed a hand to it in desperation to stop the sharp torture as he threw himself backward, away from Emma.

“Graham? Graham,” Emma panicked as she reached out to help him. 

Graham collapsed to the floor, his entire body going numb as he got down on his knees and then curled forward to land on his left side. 

“Graham!”

Emma's eyes started to water. 

She turned him onto his back as he slowly closed his eyes, taking his last breath in Emma's arms.

Regina had reduced the heart to ashes and let them sift from her hands to the hard, filthy floor as she unclenched her fist. She turned her wrist to hold her palm face down over the floor and stared at the mess she'd made as it lay in a lifeless pile in front of her.

Emma checked Graham's pulse and immediately pressed an ear to his chest when she couldn't find one. Hysterically, she cried out his name and hoped she'd feel a heart beat but never did. 

She sniffled as her voice died out, too much stress on her vocal chords in such a short period of time, and rested her back in defeat against the front of her desk. She sobbed as she held Graham against her, his head in her arm and neck in her lap. 

She didn't understand what had happened and got lost in her tears as she cried until she could no longer breathe. 

Everything went dark for her as she felt his heavy body on top of her, knowing that no life remained within it. 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Emma stood at her desk, staring down at the one and only Sheriff's badge. She didn't know how to feel about the loss of Graham though some time had passed. She wouldn't consider herself close to him, certainly not close enough to call her his friend, but he'd given her a job. He gave her a chance and no one in her life until then had done that.

She would forever be thankful, grateful, but she would also regret using him to get back at Regina. They could've had something and she decided to piss on it instead of take a chance. Though she wasn't the luckiest soul when it came to love. She'd been wrong about a person before and she didn't want to make the same mistake twice. She learned at way too young an age paying way too big a price to mess up like that again.

But it still hurt. It hurt her to think she could use someone like that, especially when she would never get the chance to apologize.

She sighed and began to put the badge on until an already all too familiar voice shattered her almost calm mood.

“That's not for you,” Regina flatly said from the main hallway.

Emma took a deep breath as she stuck her tongue between her teeth and turned.

“It's been two weeks since his funeral and a little longer than that since his...” Emma trailed off as she couldn't bare to say the word death. “I think I've more than proved myself competent enough for the job since then.”

“Miss Swan, I can assure you Sidney Glass would be a more appropriate Sheriff,” she callously said, her face stone cold as she sized up the blonde.

“What, Sidney? The reporter? He doesn't know anything about law enforcement.”

“And I suppose with your criminal record you do?”

Emma clenched her jaw shut.

“Did I upset you, dear,” Regina asked as she walked further into the office, approaching Emma with a satisfied smirk.

“He's just a reporter,” Emma growled after a moment. “I've been deputy for over two weeks now...and you think he'd be better at this?”

“Yes. My point? Anyone would be better suited for this job than you.”

“Unless you're calling for an election, I don't see how you've got a choice,” Emma said as she gently placed the badge on the desk.

She leaned against the lip of the desk, slightly perched on top of it as she crossed her arms over her chest to wait out Regina's next move.

Regina grinned at Emma as she gave the younger woman a once over. She could see the weakness in Emma, see the fire in her heart dying out quickly. As much as she wanted Emma torn apart, she wanted more of a fight in the girl. It had been far too long since she'd had a worthy adversary and she didn't want to lose that entertainment just yet. She'd break Emma Swan, but she'd do it slowly using more than just witty insults and a few exchanged punches in a graveyard.

“There's no need for an election. I won't go so far as to say that you're right, but I'm sure having you act as Sheriff will somehow be beneficial to me as well as the rest of this town.”

“Thank you.”

Regina chuckled.

“I wouldn't take that as a compliment, _Sheriff._ ”

“Oh, I didn't,” Emma raised her eyebrows as she maintained her defiant attitude.

Regina continued to grin, pleased with Emma's resilience.

“Just don't make me regret my decision, Miss Swan,” Regina said as she turned and headed for the exit, her heels clicking along the way.

“I made you hate me enough to try and strangle me,” Emma mumbled. “ _I_ sure as hell don't regret a thing so far.”

Though Regina continued to move toward the door, she still managed to hear Emma's words and grinned again.

So she wants me to hate her, Regina mused. This is going to be a lot more fun than I thought it'd be.

Emma lifted the badge back up to the top left side of her red leather jacket and pinched it through the material. She didn't know why Regina hadn't put up much of a fight about her being Sheriff, but she knew she needed to watch out for the brunette. And that was something she had no problem doing.

On her first day as Sheriff, Emma kept with her routine she'd formed in the last two weeks. She grabbed her breakfast and took her lunch breaks at Granny's and made a point to strike up a conversation with Ruby. She'd never had a routine before and decided starting and keeping one couldn't be so bad.

Ruby smiled at her when she walked in and took her seat at the bar. She waited for Ruby to finish serving another customer before the promiscuously dressed woman made her way over to Emma.

“Hey,” Ruby greeted.

“Hey,” Emma forced a smile.

“Aw, why do you look so upset? Wait, did Regina fire you because you wanted to be promoted to Sheriff?”

Emma shook her head.

“Oddly enough, she didn't fight me on that. Well, there was a moment when I thought she was gonna challenge me, but she didn't push. As of today, I'm the new Sheriff.”

“That's great,” Ruby beamed. “So...why are you sad?”

“I've just been working for the last two weeks. Henry and I haven't really had a chance to talk during that time and...it's been kind of boring, lonely.”

“We should go out tonight!”

“What? No.”

“Yeah! It'd be perfect. You'll get out of the apartment, have a chance to loosen up. Girl's night. Just a few hours drinking with friends, not worrying about anything we normally have to deal with during the day.”

Emma looked uncomfortable just thinking about it. Truthfully, she'd never had friends, never had someone to lean on or talk to, someone to hang out with like Ruby had suggested. There was a time when she thought the father of her kid was it, the one who'd always be there for her in all those ways and more, but he took off. He'd abandoned her just after she'd let him in, let him in enough to knock her up before she went to prison for trying to help him.

She sighed.

“All right. We'll go out,” she agreed.

“Yes,” Ruby smiled as she made a fist and pulled it in toward her stomach as a symbol of her victory.

“Is there even a bar in this town to do that kind of thing,” Emma asked after a moment.

Suddenly, across the diner, a man grunted as he knocked into a table and caused the sugar to crash to the floor. He grumbled and groaned as he took a swig from his flask then carried on toward the counter.

“Ruby,” he barked. “I'd like a...a...what do you call 'em? I don't know... It's, uh...burger! Yeah, I'll take some pickles.”

Ruby chuckled as she shook her head, looking from the man to Emma.

“Where do you think Leroy here goes every night,” Ruby said as she pointed to the drunk.

Emma smiled.

Ruby looked back at Leroy who took a seat at the bar and pressed his forehead against the counter top.

“One hangover special comin' up,” Ruby told Leroy before she spun on her heels and went to place the order.

“Thank you,” he groaned as he waved a hand in her direction, his head still on the counter.

“If you're hung over, why keep drinking,” Emma asked out of curiosity.

“Why not? Life sucks.”

Emma looked over Leroy and recognized his defeat. She'd been in a place like that before, after she was released from the prison. The first couple months after she got out, had given up her son for adoption and landed a decent but not spectacular job was hard. She could tell by Leroy's incessant drinking that he was in a place very similar.

She reached out and rubbed his back, between his shoulder blades, to comfort him out of empathy until Ruby returned with a glass of water.

“I'll come over to Mary Margaret's around eight so we can get ready. And if you let me, I'll even do your makeup.”

“Ugh,” Emma stuck her tongue out in disgust about the makeup. “I'm a minimalist. I really don't like all that crap over my face. Maybe some eyeliner and a little mascara, but that's it.”

“Trust me, when I'm done with you, you won't only look great but you'll feel like you don't have anything more on than you normally do. Promise.”

Emma sighed again before she reluctantly agreed.

“See you then.”

Emma gave Ruby a crooked smile as she accepted a to-go box with her established “usual” and headed back to the Sheriff's station.

Emma's day hadn't gone much better since lunch at Granny's. Being Sheriff was a lot like being deputy except when the time or situation called for it, Emma would have a lot of decision making to do and vast responsibilities to uphold. She took it one day at a time though, happy to be Sheriff and have a more solidified chance to stay close to Henry.

After another plain shift at the station, she retired to the couch at Mary Margaret's apartment as the dark haired woman marked a stack of papers with her red pen.

“You now what this place needs,” Emma asked as Mary Margaret worked at the island. “Alcohol.”

Mary Margaret smiled.

“Well, I only get paid about once a month. Whatever money I get goes to the apartment and my basic needs, also known as food and water. You're free to use part of your paycheck to get some, though.”

Emma turned to lay on the couch, facing the front door as she looked over at Mary Margaret before continuing the conversation.

“You're absolutely right. Tomorrow I'll go to the store and pick up a couple things. What kind of liquor do you like?”

“I'll survive without anything, but thank you.”

“Are you sure? The offer covers anything you want. You could ask for the expensive white wines or some kind of girly drink and I'd get it for you.”

“Hmm,when you put it that way,” Mary Margaret's smile widened. “I could use some wine and it wouldn't hurt if I could occasionally make a margarita or two.”

“That's what I'm talkin' about,” Emma grinned. “And tomorrow we shall have that.”

Mary Margaret laughed seconds before someone knocked on the door.

Emma got off the couch and opened the door for Ruby.

“Good evening, ladies,” Ruby flirtatiously said as she walked in and took notice of both Emma and Mary Margaret.

“Hi, Ruby,” Mary Margaret cheerily greeted.

“Are you ready to shake your grove thing tonight,” Ruby asked Emma.

“I only wanted a drink. You never mentioned anything about shaking.”

“Oh, come on! You've got to dance during girls night. And there's gonna be a good selection of guys there.”

“I thought girls night was supposed to be a night for girls to hang out, just friends doing fun things together,” Mary Margaret chimed in.

“Yeah, but if one of those girls has a chance to get lucky that night, the other girl shouldn't stand in the way.”

“So...no cockblocking,” Emma simplified.

Mary Margaret smiled as she gasped.

Ruby laughed.

“Uh, yeah, but women don't have cocks.”

“Speak for yourself,” Emma slyly smirked.

Mary Margaret shook her head, her mouth agape as she went slack-jawed

“Nice,” Ruby suggestively raised her eyebrows. “Though I'm not sure that comment will get you a guy.”

“Fine by me. I'm not on the market so I'm not looking.”

“Not even a one stand?”

Emma fake laughed.

“I had about two years of noting but random hook ups. Never bothered to remember the guy's names and I never bothered to stay the night.”

“Are you telling me you got the guys to agree to do it at their place and not yours? That never happens,” Ruby said, surprised.

“I made it hard for them to say no,” Emma shrugged.

“Damn. You're officially my hero.”

Emma smiled.

“Well, I can't let you go out looking like that,” Ruby started after a minute, looking over the blonde.

“Then I guess it's a good thing I wasn't planning on going out like this,” Emma said as her facial expression displayed the slight offense she took to the statement.

Ruby turned Emma around by pushing her shoulder away from the door and lightly forcing the blonde toward the bedroom. Her fingers gently pressed against Emma's back as they made their way across the apartment.

When they made it to Emma's room, Ruby looked through the closet for nice clothes Emma could wear. She stumbled upon a few dresses and dropped her jaw, stunned at the selection.

“I know we've only known each other a couple weeks, but I was _not_ expecting this. How come you wear jeans and a T-shirt when you could dress up?”

“Because I don't like frilly shirts or tight dresses. Skirts might be better than dresses, in my opinion, but I bend over and crouch down and do a lot of things that shouldn't be done in revealing outfits.”

“Oh, honey, sometimes that's half the fun,” Ruby grinned.

Emma rolled her eyes.

Ruby flipped through the dresses and found one she couldn't take her eyes off of as she removed it from the hanger.

“This one. You _have_ to wear it,” Ruby insisted.

Emma scrunched up her face in reluctance.

“Don't make me do this the hard way because I will strip you and yank this dress on you no matter how much you struggle.”

“Geez. Is it that important I wear it?”

“Hey, this dress will get you _laid._ ”

“Yeah. I should know. It's gotten me laid the three times in my life I've actually worn it. Put it back.”

Ruby frowned.

“Seriously? This dress is orgasmic.”

“Then _you_ wear it.”

“You really don't want to get any tonight?”

Emma shook her head.

“It's not my top priority, no,” Emma answered.

“Okay...will you still wear it,” Ruby made puppy dog eyes. “Please?”

She pouted as she stuck out her bottom lip and silently begged.

Emma took a deep breath and released it in a sigh.

“Fine,” she groaned as she swiped the dress out of Ruby's hands.

Ruby smiled, pleased with her way of persuasion.

Emma stepped into the bathroom to slip into the dress and tousled her hair to give it more volume, more bounce, after she adjusted her breasts within the tight fabric.

The dress was black and perfectly clung to Emma's curves, well-fitted to her shape. It had one sleeve that draped across her right shoulder as the hem of the dress stopped a little less than an inch above her knees.

She walked out to show Ruby who grinned as she looked Emma up and down.

“Not done yet, but already you're a natural beauty,” Ruby said.

“How much more is there to do,” Emma frowned.

After ten minutes of applying eyeliner and mascara to a fidgety Emma as well as fixing up Emma's curls, Ruby took a step back and admired her work.

“Wow,” Ruby breathlessly said as she carefully ran her hand under Emma's curls.

“What?”

“You look so gorgeous. I'd sleep with you,” Ruby admitted.

Emma cleared her throat before she spoke up.

“Uh, thanks,” she nervously smiled. “Um, is that what you're wearing?”

Emma waved a hand at Ruby's current attire and caused both of them to look over the outfit.

“Yeah. What, you don't think it looks good enough?”

“No, I think it's great,” Emma said as she scanned over the red and black backless dress.

The red covered her breasts while the black hugged her curves from below her breasts to halfway down her thighs. It was skimpy and alluring and made Emma feel less attractive than Ruby made her seem.

“Put it to you this way, I'd fuck you all night long after just one look.”

“Thanks,” Ruby grinned. “Play your cards right and you just might do that.”

Ruby playfully winked and Emma chuckled as a small blush crept across her cheeks.

“I'm flattered you'd let me,” Emma continued their banter.

“Of course! You're funny, witty, smart, and above all else, sexy.”

“...Okay. If we really want to have a girls night out, we're eventually gonna have to leave the apartment,” Emma smiled.

“And we're leaving,” Ruby smiled from ear to ear.

Emma chuckled and walked out to the living room.

Mary Margaret's jaw dropped when she saw Emma.

“Wow, Emma. You look amazing,” she complimented her roommate.

“Thank you. Oh, wait. Did you want to come with us,” Emma asked as she looked between Mary Margaret and Ruby.

“Oh, yeah! You should definitely join us,” Ruby added.

Mary Margaret shook her head with a smile.

“No, thanks. I've got way too many papers to grade. They may be in elementary, but the papers take a long time to check.”

“Aw,” Ruby frowned. “Then you'll come out with us next time.”

Emma nodded.

“I won't argue with that,” Mary Margaret smiled.

“Good,” Ruby said before she looked at Emma again. “So, we're gonna go. Hopefully, Emma has something interesting to gossip about tomorrow.”

Mary Margaret chuckled.

“I'll be impatiently waiting for a story then,” she told Emma.

“I'll try not to disappoint,” Emma smiled as she and Ruby started to migrate toward the door.

“See you two later,” Mary Margaret said as they reached the door.

They both looked over their shoulders and smiled.

“Enjoy your papers,” Emma said.

“Ha, right. Thanks. Have a great girls night,” Mary Margaret replied.

Ruby blew Mary Margaret a kiss.

“We'll miss you,” Ruby said before the two of them left.

With Storybrooke being one of the smallest towns Emma knew, it didn't take long to get to the bar. It was near an opening to the woods and a little off the beaten path, but not completely out of the way.

As Emma parked her bug in the tiny parking lot outside, she thought the location was secluded enough to have a drink or two in peace, but not so much so that no one would hear someone scream if they were attacked. It was the one place in town Emma felt she'd fit in.

She and Ruby got out of the car and crossed over a gavel coated path to get to the wooden porch that was less than an inch off the ground. The entrance was a bit worn down with lots of earth tones coloring the outside of the building, but the inside didn't look as dingy.

Red accented the mahogany wood work though most of the bar was modern and a little upscale for the Podunk place.

It was more than Emma expected, but she liked it. As she looked around, she noticed she didn't know much about them.

“Already glad you went out” Ruby asked as she threw an arm around Emma's shoulders.

Emma smiled.

“I'm not regretting it,” she answered.

“Well, I'm sure you'll have a good time tonight. It's time to turn that frown upside down.”

Emma let out a breathy chuckle before Ruby led her over to the bar. They took a couple seats on the dark red stools. The bartender flung a towel over his shoulder and approached them not long after.

“What can I get you, ladies,” he asked.

“I'll take a whiskey,” Emma ordered.

“And I'll take a martini. Shaken,” Ruby said.

“Comin' right up,” the bartender nodded then turned to get their drinks.

“Okay,” Ruby started. “I want to know more about Emma Swan.”

“There's not much to know,” Emma remained evasive.

“I'm not buying. You had Henry, right? What's the deal with his father?”

“Not in the picture. Never was.”

“Does he know about Henry? That he's here?”

Emma shook her head and reused to look at Ruby when she replied.

“He never knew I was pregnant.”

“What? Did you guys break up before you took the test?”

“Something like that,” she muttered as she tried not to remember.

Ruby frowned as she looked Emma over.

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't pry. That's probably a sore subject you'll only talk about if you're near pass out drunk.”

“You're not wrong about that. The more I drink, the looser my lips become, but even then I don't like talking about it.”

“Sorry.”

“It's okay. You didn't know that about me and now you do,” Emma flashed a smile as the bartender finally returned with their drinks.

Ruby smiled back, glad to see Emma could still lighten the mood after being asked about something personal and off limits during conversation.

“Thank you,” Emma said to the bartender as she slid her whiskey closer. “Start a tab.”

The bartender grinned and nodded.

“I like your style,” he complimented Emma.

Emma furrowed her brow in response while Ruby's lips curled into a wide smile at the man.

“I've heard little about you,” the bartender started to explain. “But I know you've got balls. You're the only one here that'll stand up to the Mayor. And I can only assume that by starting a tab so boldly, you can probably drink anyone under the table.”

“I don't know about anyone,” Emma replied. “But I appreciate you thinking so highly of me.”

“And you've got a sense of humor,” the bartender smiled.

Emma pursed her lips as she grinned.

“You're a badass and more than okay in my book,” he winked at her.

“Thanks,” she chuckled as he went back to his other customers.

Ruby smiled at Emma and nudged her by bumping biceps with the blonde.

Emma smiled back before she took a swig of her whiskey. She scrunched up her face as she felt the burn of the alcohol on its way down her throat.

Ruby spun the olive around in her martini a few times before she gave in and had a sip.

Music played in the background, not loud enough to overpower the several conversations in the room, but enough for people to find the rhythm and dance if they wanted.

A group of nice, young looking guys stood against the wall with bottles of beer in their hands as they talked and watched people dance. One guy in particular took an interest in Emma though as his eyes strayed from his friends to the blonde at the bar.

He looked at the other guys then to Emma and smiled when she glanced around the room, their eyes meeting across the way. He gently waved at her and she politely smiled back.

Ruby took notice of the interaction and grinned then took another sip of her martini.

Emma turned back around to face forward, paying no attention to Ruby's grin.

“You shook ask him to dance or something,” Ruby suggested. “He's really cute and he's clearly into you.”

Emma shook her head.

“I don't think so.”

“Seriously? Have some fun, will you?”

Before Emma could say another word, the guy appeared behind them and introduced himself.

“Hi,” he started with a large smile. “I'm Matthew. Stop me if I'm being too forward, but I'd love to dance. Would you care to join me?”

Emma forced a smile after finishing another swig of whiskey.

“I'm...sorry. I don't think that'd be a good idea.”

“Have you always done what's good for you,” he asked, grinning. “Because if you ask me, that's no way to live. A little crazy good times never hurt anyone.”

“Giving up my son for adoption after being incarcerated for about eleven months begs to differ, but thank you for the offer.”

Matthew's jaw dropped a bit, surprised at her answer.

Ruby furrowed her brows as she opened her mouth, stunned and disappointed in Emma.

“Then I'm sorry that was your experience,” Matthew slowly said as he turned and walked back to his group of friends.

“What the hell was that,” Ruby asked as she lightly smacked Emma's arm.

“Sorry. I just...I told you I didn't come here to meet anyone.”

“That doesn't mean you should reject a nice guy so harshly. And bringing up Henry like that? What's gotten into you?”

“I don't know,” she tiredly answered and tipped back her drink, tripling the burning in her throat with the big gulp.

“Are you okay,” Ruby changed her tone from upset to concerned.

“I don't think I've been okay for a long time,” Emma sadly answered.

Ruby sighed and sympathetically rubbed Emma's back.

No matter how dolled up Emma got, no matter how naturally beautiful she looked, seeing Henry always made her feel as guilty as she was thrilled to be close to him. It wasn't his fault and the guilt was something she worked on the last ten years, the thought of him being somewhere in the world without knowing if he was safe or healthy always bringing her down. She didn't want to be her parents, the ones she never got to know, but she knew all the damage her life had done to her and didn't want to pass that on to her kid.

Now every day was another challenge as she tried to change for Henry. She tried to get her act together and start doing things a mother would do for her kid, making sure he was okay and not abandoning him like she had the first time.

“You know what,” Ruby started. “You're gonna dance.”

“What? No. No,” Emma groaned.

“Yes, you are. You need to let go of whatever is getting you down. So...you're gonna dance. With me,” Ruby smiled as she took Emma's hand and dragged her away from the bar.

Emma frowned the entire way to the dance floor, but Ruby refused to let her friend go home miserable. The whole point of a night out was to lift the blonde's spirits as well as spend some time bonding outside of the diner.

The song switched over to something more worthy of swaying hips and slight grinding and Ruby decided to take the lead as she continued to hold Emma's hand until the blonde started dancing on her own.

Ruby was careful to keep some space between the two of them, but didn't hold back with her alluring moves. It only took a matter of seconds before every guy in the place was shamelessly staring at her, though neither she or Emma paid them any mind.

Ruby smiled at Emma as she slowly started to let go of her hand. The sincere look in her eyes got Emma to smile back as she finally began to loosen up. She moved with Ruby, though it'd been a while since she'd danced, and ran her hand through her hair.

The two of them weren't the only ones dancing, but most eyes were trained on them and only them. They only bothered to look at each other as they shook out all the stress from the week and forgot about all their real world problems they knew they would have to face tomorrow.

Ruby turned around, her back to Emma, and dipped to the ground. She closed some of the distance between them and slowly came back into a standing position as her body teasingly brushed against Emma's.

Emma bit her lip as she nervously and reluctantly chose to play along with Ruby. She spun the waitress around and pulled their bodies flush against each other. She used her knee to push apart Ruby's thighs and slipped her leg between them. She wasn't sure where the line was between them as she seductively danced against Ruby, but when the brunette grinned at her in response she knew she hadn't crossed it.

Ruby casually draped an arm around Emma's neck and kept her other arm at her side as she swayed and moved her center against Emma's upper thigh, Emma's dress riding up a few inches as Ruby's threatened to expose her choice of underwear for the evening.

Their dance didn't last long though as a loud drunk stumbled toward the dance floor and broke a few glasses from various tables on his way.

Leroy.

The town's worst drunk was at it again. He barely managed to open his eyes as he struggled to get closer to the two women.

Emma's jaw dropped as she and Ruby simultaneously pulled away from each other. They focused on Leroy as he grinned like he had a secret and slurred his words when he finally spoke.

“H-hey, pretty ladies. I can...be sexy, too.”

Emma raised an eyebrow as she worried about what Leroy would do to show his proclaimed sexiness and didn't have to worry long.

Leroy peeled off his shirt and throatily chuckled as he awkwardly waved it around his head. His stomach rolled around in a circle as he twirled his shirt and try as everyone might, no one could look away from him.

Emma knew as Sheriff she should stop Leroy from doing anything crazy, but she couldn't focus her thoughts on anything other than his chest hair and jiggling stomach as he made a complete fool of himself.

“Wha- Uh,” Emma could only make sounds, her thoughts incoherent and jumbled up in her head as she watched Leroy lower his shirt to his side and start to dance to the music.

“Yeah! You know you want this,” he said as he rubbed his stomach.

“Okay,” Emma finally managed to say a complete word. “This...has to stop.”

Emma moved forward and reached out to take Leroy's hand.

Suddenly, Leroy grabbed Emma's wrist and pulled her closer. He forced her to dance with him even as she tried to wrestle her way out of his grip.

“You smell good,” he said seconds before he leaned in and tried to kiss her.

Emma contorted her face in disgust as she pulled away from him then pushed his chest to separate them.

“All right. You need to go home, sleep this off.”

Leroy frowned.

“No,” he loudly barked.

“Yes. Now come on. Let me drive you,” Emma reached out to him from a safe distance, but he angrily swatted her hand away and headed for the exit.

“Leroy,” she called out.

“I don't want to sleep! I don't...want to go home.”

Emma sighed then turned to Ruby.

“I'm sorry. I'm gonna go after him. Take the car,” she handed Ruby the keys.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. This could take all night. I don't want to leave you stranded. I'll be fine.”

“Okay,” Ruby agreed as she accepted the keys.

“Thanks for the dance,” Emma smiled before she turned and followed Leroy.

When she got outside, Emma saw him running away from the bar toward the woods.

“Leroy,” Emma shouted.

He didn't run fast, his weight being a deterrent, but he had a head start and Emma knew she couldn't let him get away from her.

“Come on, Leroy,” Emma continued to shout as she took off running in her heels.

She chased him down the road for a few miles until she was able to catch up to him. He surprisingly showed no signs of slowing down so she tried to reason with him.

Headlights lit up the road beside and a little ahead of Emma and Leroy as they continued to run.

Emma gritted her teeth and picked up her speed as the car slowed down. After a few long strides, Emma lunged forward and tackled Leroy to the ground. The two of them fell to the side of the road and tumbled into the woods.

Though there wasn't much of a dip from the road into the grass, Leroy put up a fight and caused the two to roll further into darkness. Emma grunted as she flipped over and over again, struggling to take control of the situation through their forward momentum. She landed on her back more times than she could count with a harsh thud as Leroy's dead weight crushed her on impact. She always managed to push him off of her and fall on top of him, but he wouldn't give up.

They didn't stop rolling through dirt and grass, hitting a number of twigs and pine cones along the way until they crashed into a tree. The air left Emma's lungs as she was sandwiched between the scratchy bark of the tree and Leroy, all of his weight pressed firmly against her.

He pushed off the tree and scurried to his feet, nearly slipping in the leaves around them, but Emma forced herself onto her feet as she grabbed Leroy's arm and pulled herself up. She held him back as she did so and clawed at his wrists as she yanked them behind his back.

She didn't have any cuffs on her so she clamped her hands around his wrists and used them as makeshift cuffs. They wouldn't hold him if he tried to run, but she knew if he bolted again she could easily trip him into submission.

She guided him back toward the road in about a minute and stared at the black Mercedes parked in the shoulder area.

Regina stood with her arms crossed against her chest in wait for the two of them, a smirk on her face when she took in the sight of Emma covered in dirt, her hair a tangled mess as a twig and a leaf found a home in the blonde tresses.

“Nice night for a rough and tumble, Sheriff,” Regina joked. “Great place for one, too. A secluded forest off a lonely road. You truly do know romance, don't you.”

Emma panted as she stopped with Leroy a few feet in front of Regina.

“Well, I'd rather be out here rolling around with someone than pleasing myself in my car on the side of the road like you, Madame Mayor,” Emma quipped.

Regina pursed her lips.

“And what makes you think I'd do that?”

“Why else would you be out here, alone, making sex jokes. Not getting laid lately?”

“I'm not sure I'd be so cocky if I'd just been found in the woods with the town drunk. He's not exactly a catch.”

“Doesn't matter to me. I can do much better than you in that department.”

“Would you bet on that, Miss Swan?”

“I got Graham to want me more than you, didn't I?”

Regina parted her lips and nearly gasped at the remark.

“That was Graham's mistake. You, dear, are no grand prize. You're trash. Something people only use maybe once or twice than get rid of when they're done with you.”

Emma felt her blood boil.

“See. I can play just as cruelly as you,” Regina added. “And I'm more than comfortable betting I'll win every time.”

“We'll see about that,” Emma grinned then started to push Leroy back toward the bar.

“What's with you two,” Leroy drunkenly asked. “It's like...tension, but...different.”

“I suggest you take your boyfriend back into town, possibly the Sheriff's station since he's publicly intoxicated. I'm not sure you're aware of this, Sheriff, but that's against the law...in any state.”

“I know the law.”

“Oh, right. Seeing as how you used to break it.”

Emma shook her head and continued walking.

“Miss Swan,” Regina stopped her again.

Emma slowly turned around and looked at Regina, bored and no longer pleased.

“How exactly do you plan on taking him back to the Sheriff's station without a car?”

“I have legs.”

You most certainly do, Regina mused as she looked over Emma from her heels back up to her green eyes.

“It's a long way back,” Regina quickly and forcefully explained.

“Are you offering me a ride,” Emma sighed.

Regina chuckled as she shook her head.

“Of course not, dear. Don't be silly.”

“Then what's your point?”

Regina took a few steps toward Emma, their faces inches away as she disregarded Leroy beside them.

“Well, you may be proud, but I doubt you want to spend the rest of your evening walking all the way back to the station with a heavy, shirtless man.”

“Hey! Did you just call me fat,” Leroy asked Regina, offended.

Regina shot him a glance, but didn't waste her breath answering his question. She looked back at Emma and grinned.

“If you want a ride, all you have to do is ask.”

Emma took a deep breath and released it in a long sigh through her nose. She gritted her teeth as she stared at the woman in such a way that if looks could kill, Regina's heart would've stopped in seconds.

“Will you give me a ride?”

Regina's grin widened, but she wasn't fully satisfied.

“That doesn't sound like someone who really needs a ride. Why should I waste my valuable time driving you around if you could find some other way to get where you need to go?”

Emma shook her head, but sized up Regina. Regina's power then would come from Emma's begging. If she didn't beg, Regina would lose the upper hand and go home unhappy. Knocking the older woman down a peg or two was worth the long walk to Emma.

“You're right. I don't really need a ride. I'll see you around, Regina,” Emma sweetly smiled though both women knew underneath that smile was an overly confident grin.

Emma turned around again and started walking, pulling Leroy along.

“Are you sure you don't want a ride,” Regina tried to keep the desperation out of her voice as she struggled to have control over Emma.

She took another step toward the blonde though Emma kept walking.

“Unless you're offering, I'm good. Thanks,” Emma didn't even bother to look over her shoulder when she spoke.

Regina balled her hands into fists and thought about a way to get Emma to beg.

The ring on her right hand caught in the faint light of the street lamp and reflected it as Regina's eyes glowed purple. She grinned as she stared at Leroy's retreating figure when suddenly, he kicked Emma in the back of the knee and sent her down on the ground as he took off running again.

Emma landed on her hands and knees with a yelp.

“Damn it,” she muttered as she watched him sprint back toward the bar.

Regina's eyes went back to normal and she laughed.

Emma nearly growled as she got back on her feet. She turned back to Regina and closed the space between them, none the wiser.

“May I please have a ride,” Emma asked in a low tone.

Regina shook her head.

“Before we lose Leroy, how much groveling do I need to do before you agree?”

“Getting back down on your knees would be a nice start.”

Emma glanced from Regina's eyes to her lips before she did what the woman wanted.

She knelt in front of Regina and looked up at the brunette with wide, less angry eyes.

“Please, Madame Mayor, will you give me a ride? I'll be gratefully in your debt should you chose to accept,” she said in her smart-ass voice, not at all sincere about the words she spoke.

“Miss Swan, have you done this before,” Regina feigned flattery.

“Wouldn't you like to know,” Emma teased.

Emma held Regina's gaze for a long moment before she looked around at the empty road and surrounding woods.

Regina took Emma's chin in her hand. She forced Emma's gaze back on her and caused the blonde to gulp when their eyes locked once again.

“Get in,” Regina sternly said.

Emma tugged her face away from Regina's grip and stood.

Regina watched Emma head toward the Mercedes like a predator ready to pounce on its prey.

Emma eyed the Mayor carefully as she went to the passenger's side door, making sure Regina didn't attack her from behind. She opened the door and slid inside before Regina reached the door.

Once Regina got in, she turned the car around and drove after Leroy. The radio remained off as she kept a steady pace down the road while Emma looked out all the windows in search for the drunk. Regina's eyes weren't as trained on the road though as she took the time to look over Emma in the seat beside her.

When she could look away from the road, she stared down at milky thighs hidden under strips of dirt, a few scratch marks on them from what Regina assumed to be twigs or stray branches on the forest floor. Emma hadn't adjusted her dress when she entered the car as the hem hiked a little more than halfway up her thighs.

Emma rested her elbow on the car door and placed her head in her hand. She tiredly looked over at Regina and noticed the brunette staring at her thighs. She furrowed her brow as she pulled her dress down with her left hand, which got Regina to look up at Emma then quickly look back at the road.

Regina cleared her throat then spoke up.

“So...where were you tonight that actually made you look like decent for once?”

Emma rolled her eyes and went back to scanning the road for Leroy.

“The bar.”

“Trying to pick up a stray,” Regina asked with a smirk.

“I was out with Ruby. Not that it's any of your business what I do and who I do it with.”

“Ah, Miss Lucas. Have you been keeping company with her long?”

“Since when do you care about my personal life?”

“I don't, dear. Make no mistake. I'm simply keeping tabs on the people in my town.”

“Because that's not creepy,” Emma sarcastically said.

“I just want to make sure they're not getting themselves into trouble, Sheriff. Things have been a bit different after your arrival. Can't be too safe anymore.”

“I'm not a threat to anyone but you, Regina. You know that,” Emma shot back.

Regina shot Emma a sideways glance and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. She sighed before she continued.

“How was the bar?”

“Seriously? You're still asking me about what I did tonight?”

“Would you rather sit in complete silence?”

“Why can't you just turn on the radio,” Emma asked as she leaned over to turn it on.

Regina swatted Emma's hand away.

“I don't allow music in the car. You're more likely to have an accident.”

“Whatever you say.”

After a few more seconds of only hearing the tires on the open road, Emma spotted Leroy slowly running alongside it.

“Pull over,” Emma removed her elbow from the door.

Regina obliged and waited in the car as she watched Emma chase after Leroy once again. That time she didn't need to resort to tackling the man like a linebacker, which admittedly was less entertaining for Regina, but she still watched as Emma pulled Leroy back to the car.

Regina unlocked the back door seconds before Emma pulled it open and tossed Leroy in the backseat.

Emma shut the door behind him after she secured his legs inside the car and got back in the passenger's seat.

“Where do you want to take him,” Regina asked.

“To the Sheriff's station. He's gonna need to sleep this one off and I can't really trust him to be on his own.”

Regina didn't say anything as she put the car in drive and took them to the station.

When Regina parked the car outside the Sheriff's station, Emma looked at her before she got out.

“Um, if it's okay with you, could I get a ride back to Mary Margaret's after I get him inside?”

Regina took a minute to think it over.

“Why don't we discuss it once you've taken care of the current situation.”

“Okay,” Emma agreed after a moment.

She shut the passenger's door and got Leroy out of the car. She shuffled him upstairs and helped him into one of the jail cells along the far wall. She locked him up and waited until Leroy got comfortable in the cot before she headed back down to the parking lot.

She saw the Mercedes still parked out front, the brunette waiting patiently inside, and looked surprised. She wasn't sure what Regina's vague answer to giving her a ride home meant, but she half expected the Mayor to take off unannounced while Emma was dealing with Leroy. And yet, Regina had stayed.

Emma decided to be bold, though she didn't know where she stood with Regina, and got back in the car.

“Does this mean you'll take me home?”

“Well, it's late and I'm not sure I want to drive to your dreary apartment in the opposite direction when my house is just down the way.”

“So you waited here to tell me you're not giving me a ride?”

“I never said I wouldn't give you a ride, dear. I just don't want to go to your apartment.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“If you want a ride, I can give you one, but it'll be back to my place.”

Emma looked at Regina, blatantly confused.

“You...want me to go home with you?”

“No. Let me be clear with you. This car is only going to my place. If you want a ride in this car, that's where you'll end up. If you want to go back to your apartment, you can walk.”

Emma settled a little in the seat as she thought about it, still a bit confused.

“I don't have all night, Miss Swan. You've got three seconds to either stay in this car or get out and walk.”

Emma looked worried as she stared straight ahead. She relaxed her muscles and sat naturally in the seat after a moment.

Regina grinned as she started the car. Within a few seconds, she backed out of the parking lot and noticed Emma put her seat belt on before they drove off.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Regina parked in the garage Emma never realized she had and the two of them sat in more silence once the car was off. Regina rested her hands in her lap and took a subtle but deep breath.

Emma looked around the dark space outside the car with wide eyes and sighed as she thrummed her fingers on her knee. She used her other hand to pick out the twig she noticed in her hair then decided to check the other side for any more evidence she'd been in the woods.

“No sense in siting out here in the dark,” Regina abruptly said as she collected her thoughts and exited the Benz.

Emma shook her head as her eyebrows shot up toward her hairline, taking a minute to adjust to the situation as her expression said, “What the hell?”

As Emma got out and followed Regina's lead into the mansion, she knew only two things. One, she knew how to piss off Regina Mills and two, she was trapped in Regina's house with the woman who knew how to get her own licks in. Anything could happen.

Once inside, Emma watched Regina retreat to a drink cart inside the parlor. She uneasily followed, her heels starting to hurt her feet as she crossed the kitchen and foyer to the archway. Regina poured two tumblers of apple cider and slipped some vodka into each. She took the glasses and led Emma into the study across the foyer. When Emma stepped inside after her, she turned and handed over a glass. She felt no need to warn the blonde about the bitter alcohol.

“Shut the door,” Regina dismissively demanded.

Regina sounded nonchalant, like she expected the blonde to do what she said, but her voice also carried a strong undertone of force as insurance.

Emma didn't hesitate and shut the door as commanded. She cautiously took a few steps inside the room and sat on the couch. She remained tense and adjusted her dress, pulling it down to cover her thighs and tugging it up at her chest to conceal her breasts.

Regina took the seat across from the couch Emma sat on, like the night they first met.

“Did you enjoy yourself tonight,” Regina asked as she watched Emma take a sip of her drink.

Emma pursed her lips and crinkled her nose at the unexpected taste of vodka.

Regina grinned as she stared at Emma.

“Yeah, I...guess I did.”

“Was that before or after you made things physical with a liquored up Leroy.”

Regina had a sip of her drink but made no such face as Emma had. She looked over the younger woman's face as Emma formed an answer.

“Mostly before,” Emma defensively answered. “Chasing Leroy was more for his safety than for any other reason. What exactly were _you_ doing out there on that road, Madame Mayor?”

Regina's grin faded.

“I went out for a drive. Sometimes it's what I do to relieve stress.”

“And Henry?”

“I allowed him to sleep over at a classmate's house for a birthday party in hopes he'd make a few friends.”

“What about the stress,” Emma asked then took a swig of her drink without making a face, no longer surprised by the burn of the alcohol. “What could possibly cause that?”

“Nothing that concerns you, dear. Share a dance with some unshaven, unclean failure of a human being?”

“Are you trying to tell me you think that's my type?”

“Yes. What else could I possibly be saying with my statement?”

“I'll have you know I've been with a fair share of decent guys. ...And I'd hardly call Ruby a failure.”

“Ah, Miss Lucas. Much better choice than I'd have ever given you credit for,” Regina smirked as she prepared to get under Emma's skin.

“Wow. You are really _stuck_ on my sex life tonight, aren't you?”

“I'm just having a hard time picturing anyone even remotely decent as a partner picking you over the handful of women actually worth their time.”

“Guess you're back to calling me trash,” Emma tried to deflect Regina's insults and took another swig.

“How could you not see yourself that way,” Regina asked as she set her drink down on the table between them. “When I adopted Henry, the agency told me you were a young mother. Eighteen years old and you'd already had a child? That tells me you fell for someone out of naivete. Then you told me when we first met that Henry's father wasn't involved. Must have been a dead beat.”

“You said it yourself. I was young.”

“And stupid enough to sleep with the first guy that opened a door for you. I'm thankful for your mistake to lay on your back for him because if you hadn't, I wouldn't have Henry, but in doing so that makes you easy.”

Emma set down her drink on the same table Regina had placed hers and balled her fist around the hem of her dress.

“Easy to please,” Regina continued. “Easy to trick.”

Regina raked her eyes over Emma starting from her heels then pausing at the small parting between Emma's legs, and finally up to Emma's eyes as she made her last comment.

"Easy to...get you on your knees.”

Emma shot off the couch and towered over Regina as the Mayor continued to sit.

“I am _not_ easy.”

Regina smirked.

“Sensitive subject, Miss Swan,” she condescendingly asked. “I saw for myself. It was unreal how easily I got you to beg for even a simple ride. Tell me...what else will you beg for in a matter of seconds?”

Emma slapped Regina across the face and the impact nearly echoed in the quiet room.

Regina cupped her left hand to her cheek as she slowly turned back and faced Emma. The second their eyes locked, Regina released a sigh through gritted teeth as she looked over Emma, the blonde's breathing erratic as her chest noticeably rose and fell.

Regina slowly stood up, her eyes fixed solely on Emma's, and dropped her hand to her side.

“I never thought I'd use such crass language, but it suits you so I guess I'll make an exception. You're a whore; a cheap, dirty whore and that's all you'll ever be,” she growled.

Emma's jaw slightly dropped then made the split decision to grab Regina's shoulders and throw her across the table toward the couch.

Regina skidded across the table, her right side crashing against the table and knocking over their drinks. She landed on her back on the floor as her left shoulder collided with the bottom of the couch and ceased her momentum.

Emma stalked over to finish what she started and bent down to grab the brunette by the hair. She started to pull the brunette to her feet.

Regina only allowed her to pull her up halfway and then clawed Emma's wrists before she kneed Emma in the ankle. Emma fell onto her back on the table that once held their drinks as her leg slipped out from underneath her, the glasses shattered beneath Regina.

As she tried to get up, the older woman forced her back down with a punch to the jaw.

Regina straddled the table and made sure she didn't touch Emma with any part of her body other than her hands.

Emma grabbed Regina by the collar of her white blouse and tried to toss the woman aside, but Regina tangled a hand in the Sheriff's hair and pulled Emma's head back.

Regina exposed the blonde’s neck as Emma squirmed beneath her. She moved quickly as she pushed a hand down on Emma's right hip to keep her against the table and leaned over. Regina's mouth hovered above Emma's neck for a fleeting moment before she parted her lips and bit down on Emma's pulse point.

Emma yelped and fidgeted even more as Regina’s teeth bit to break skin. She latched onto Regina's hand on her waist, flung it away from her, then kicked the brunette's inner thigh with her heel. She sent Regina backward, away from the table and closer to the window.

Emma hurried onto her feet and shoved Regina against the wall behind her.

Regina hit it with a thud and a grunt as the air left her lungs. She felt Emma's hand grab her neck and squeeze like she had done to the blonde in the graveyard.

“I told you not to corner me.”

Regina reached over to the nearby desk as she started to lose oxygen and grabbed the first object to make contact with her trembling fingers.

She hit the side of Emma's face with an extra bottle of cider she left on the desk from a few nights prior, the glass breaking on impact. Emma instinctively let go of Regina's neck and curled inward, the cider dripping down her right side.

As the shards fell to the floor, Regina managed to carefully coil her fingers around a piece of jagged glass. She lowered her hand and slashed Emma across the thigh with it, cutting a slit into the once beautiful though dirty dress. She'd successfully nicked the skin and drew blood. She grinned as she quickly used her right hand to grab hold of Emma's hair again.

She yanked Emma sideways to the door and forced her against it, her back to Regina.

Regina held her there for a moment as Emma's right cheek pressed against the door, the blonde panting as Regina closed the space between them.

Any time Emma moved, Regina tugged on her hair until she stopped. She lifted the shard of glass in her left hand to Emma's throat as she panted against Emma's ear.

“You have no idea what I'm capable of,” Regina slowly growled.

She forced a knee between Emma's thighs and kicked the blondes' legs apart. She pressed the glass into Emma's skin and watched her wince as the sharp edge poked her.

Regina pulled Emma's long, curly tresses away from the glass then swiftly swiped the shard from left to right across Emma's neck.

Emma hissed and instantly started bleeding.

Regina let go of Emma's hair and let the blonde locks cover her handiwork as she switched hands, the glass then in her right hand as she rested her left palm flat against the study door less than an inch from Emma's hip.

With her right knee between Emma's thighs, she lifted her knee and raised Emma's dress an inch with it. She stopped her knee just before brushing it against Emma's sex, her body heat the only thing making any real contact with it.

Regina reached her right hand under Emma's dress and teasingly raked the glass shard up the inside of Emma's right thigh, a feather-like touch that made Emma's breath hitch.

Emma gulped and took a deep, shaking breath as she stiffened then relaxed against the door while her eyes blissfully closed.

Regina smirked then lightly pressed her lips to the shell of Emma's left ear in a quick but lingering kiss, Regina's mouth still close the blonde's ear as she spoke.

“You just proved my point, you little harlot,” Regina whispered in her ear.

Emma almost gasped as her eyes shot open. With one sudden jab, she elbowed Regina in the ribs and gave herself enough space to turn and face the brunette.

Even as Regina held her ribs, she sinisterly chuckled and shook her head.

“Then let me prove my point, Mayor Mills,” Emma raised her voice as she crept closer to Regina.

She didn't verbalize her point before she lunged at Regina and tackled her to the ground.

The glass flew out of Regina's hand and Emma rushed to sit upright and straddle the older woman, both on the floor. Regina's blouse rode up just above her navel as Emma's thighs encased her bare stomach.

Regina looked at Emma's thighs and noticed the blonde's dress had slipped up to her waist revealing Emma's electric blue lace underwear. Regina's breath hitched as she stared straight between Emma's thighs and felt the warmth that resided there on her skin.

Regina brought a hand to her own hair as she tried to control herself.

Emma smirked and grabbed Regina's other hand, her left hand. She slid it between her legs and ran the Mayor's knuckles over the lace.

Regina shuddered then bit her bottom lip.

Emma bent over Regina, keeping the brunette's hand between her legs, and placed a chaste kiss on Regina’s collarbone. She moved to the other side of Regina's neck and nibbled at Regina’s pulse point.

Regina tilted her head back to expose more of her neck to Emma as her breathing became shallow.

Emma flicked the tip of her tongue over the area she brutishly bit as Regina's hand left her hair to nestle in Emma's. She felt Regina's hand between her thighs move without her guidance and pull her underwear to the side.

The Mayor's fingers stroked the Sheriff's unguarded sex and found a slickness where her fingers roamed that she enjoyed.

Emma bit her bottom lip and grinned as her green eyes darkened.

“ _My_ point,” Emma purred. “You may think I'm dirt, but _you_ like to roll in it.”

Regina frowned and stopped moving her hand between Emma's legs, displeased.

“Not so high and mighty now, are you, Madame Mayor.”

Regina shot her a smoldering look and, without warning, forced two fingers into Emma.

Emma gasped and keeled over Regina as she closed her eyes. She balled her fists against the floor on either side of Regina’s head as the brunette aggressively plunged her fingers in and out of Emma.

“Tell me again who has the power here,” Regina growled her question.

Regina bucked her hips and flipped Emma onto her back. In one fluid movement, she flattened her palm against Emma's knee and pushed the blonde's leg away. She held the leg, folded at the knee, close to Emma's chest to open up the Sheriff even more as she quickened her pace. A devilish grin spread across her face as she felt Emma tighten and tense.

Emma barely had time to catch her breath as every thrust made her erratic breathing even shallower. She reached out to touch Regina, but the brunette used the hand on Emma's knee to then capture the Sheriff's hands. She leaned onto Emma's leg to keep it in place, keep Emma wide open, as she continued.

Regina forced both of Emma's hands above her head and restrained the younger woman. She lustfully stared down at Emma as the blonde immediately fought against her hand, unsuccessful.

“I do believe you need to reevaluate the situation, dear, because now _I_ have the upper hand.”

Regina curled her fingers and gave a single, deep thrust back into Emma then tantalizingly ran her thumb and fingernail over Emma's sensitive bundle of nerves.

Emma clenched her fists and whimpered in an attempt not to moan. She couldn't bare to make eye contact with Regina as she felt completely dominated, but Regina had other plans.

“Look at me,” Regina growled.

Emma looked up at the ceiling, panting, as she thought over her options. She could deny Regina eye contact and face whatever consequences the brunette had in store for her, or she could oblige the older woman and see how the current situation played out.

“ _Look_ at me,” Regina said with more force as she slipped Emma's right leg over her shoulder and painfully bit a section of skin just below the blonde's knee. 

Emma cried out as she balled up her fists and tightened even further around Regina's fingers, her eyes clamped shut while she tried to deal with the pain.

“Are you going to listen or do you need me hurt you again,” Regina purred and grinned.

Emma opened her eyes and adjusted her focus, her attention directed at Regina and her dark, alluring eyes.

“Good girl,” Regina said she slowed her pace and maneuvered herself between Emma's legs.

She let go of Emma's wrists as she made her descent down Emma's body. She briefly removed her fingers from Emma and used it with her other hand to slip off Emma's panties. Afterward, she took the underside of Emma's right knee in the web of her hand to replace her shoulder and removed her thumb from Emma's clit.

She delved her tongue over the bundle of nerves and pressed harder with the tip of her tongue during the middle of her oral travel.

Emma moaned, her gaze weakly fixed on Regina as her eyes threatened to close.

Regina shifted again and brought herself back up Emma's body.

“Would you like a safe word, Miss Swan,” Regina sternly asked as if she didn't care to hear the response.

Emma stared into Regina's eyes and managed to regain focus on her surroundings, her vision crystal clear.

“Don't need one,” she breathlessly answered after a moment.

Regina throatily chuckled.

“By the time I'm done with you, you'll have second thoughts about that.”

Regina forcefully slid her arms under Emma's arched hips and up her back. She pulled Emma up to her and swiftly pulled down the zipper of the blonde's black dress. She clawed at Emma's skin as she moved her hand up her back to Emma's neck. She grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked her head to the side. She exposed the other side of Emma's neck, the one she'd marked with the glass shard and not her teeth, and leaned in.

She kissed Emma's neck a few times and sucked then bit it as she held Emma by the hair. The more she continued to bite, the harder she sank her teeth into the soft flesh. With her free hand, she pulled down one half of Emma's dress just enough to expose Emma's black bra.

Blue panties and a black bra. Leave it to Emma Swan to look down right gorgeous then mismatch undergarments.

Regina released Emma's tresses to slip off the other half of the dress then bit down harder on Emma's neck with every intention to break skin once again.

Emma moaned and squeezed her eyes shut as the rest of her body defensively stiffened. She tried to regulate her breathing as the pain shot through her veins and she became increasingly wet.

Regina licked the blood then kissed the raised skin. She slipped her hand between Emma's legs again and teasingly ran the back of her index finger up and down the Sheriff's slit.

Feeling the degree of Emma's wetness, she forcefully reentered Emma with two fingers. She thrust in and out at a quickened pace, similar to first one she'd set, and decided to kiss Emma. She took the Sheriff's bottom lip between her teeth shortly after and bit it with a little extra pressure. She pulled it along with her a short distance then moved down to Emma's breasts.

She pecked at Emma's sternum and scraped her teeth over the tight skin. Emma rewarded her by arching her back, her breasts in Regina's face.

Regina grinned as she let go of the skin. She used a hand to pull down a cup and expose one of Emma's breasts. She flicked her tongue over a hardened nipple only once and sped up her pace.

Emma moaned as she reached out and laced her fingers in short brunette locks. She held Regina to her breast in encouragement.

Regina emitted a slow, low chuckle and sent a vibration through Emma's body as she did.

Emma's walls tightened again around Regina's fingers as she felt herself approaching release.

Regina felt it too and slid a third finger into Emma to spur the younger woman on even more. She took Emma's nipple between her teeth and faintly raked them over it. She lapped her tongue over the pink bud up and down and back again. As she used her thumb to rub Emma's clit in circles, she left Emma's breast.

The cold air surprised Emma and she frowned at the sudden neglect.

Regina lowered her left hand to Emma's hip and pinched her. She held on tight to the skin as Emma moaned and squirmed beneath her. She could feel Emma giving in, seconds from release, and withdrew her fingers.

Emma groaned as she immediately missed the contact and furrowed her brow as she looked straight up at a grinning Regina. She wanted to tell the brunette she wanted more, tell her to keep going, but when she opened her mouth to speak, she realized the game Regina was playing.

She wanted Emma to beg for it.

Emma closed her mouth and bit her bottom lip to fight off the aching desperation between her thighs.

“Say it,” Regina said as she recognized the proud, defiant look in the blonde's eyes. “Tell me what you want.”

“You already know what I want,” Emma struggled to keep her hands from slipping and finishing the job herself.

“And yet that won't help either of us,” Regina slowly said as her eyes never left Emma's.

Emma balled up her fists in self-restraint, but when Regina ran her right hand across her lower stomach and the brunette's ring and wet fingers brushed against her hot skin, she couldn't resist. She placed her right hand between her legs and slipped two fingers inside herself.

“I don't think so,” Regina devilishly smirked as she grabbed Emma's hand and removed it.

Regina slammed Emma's right hand against the hardwood floor outstretched and away from her sex. She watched the younger woman fidget beneath her then try to sneak her left hand between her legs.

Regina's ring glowed and heated against Emma's wrist.

Emma's left hand suddenly flew away from her and hit the floor, outstretched like the one Regina held down though the Mayor didn't use her own hand to do it and the brunette's eyes never flashed purple.

Emma hissed as she started to feel the warmth from Regina's ring and bucked her hips to touch her sex to Regina's black dress pants.

Regina pulled away from her and stood.

Emma tried to move, but couldn't. She was paralyzed against the floor and didn't understand it, but Regina seemed more than pleased as she towered over her.

Regina slowly unbuttoned her blouse and slid out of it as the material gracefully fell to the floor around her feet.

Emma's lips parted as she gazed at Regina's taut stomach and smooth black bra that encased plump, tan breasts.

Regina licked her lips before she raised her right hand to her mouth and licked her fingers, leaving only a hint of Emma's juices on them.

Emma sharply and shallowly inhaled as she watched Regina run her fingertips down her front, between her breasts, over her belly button, and then slip down her pants.

Regina bit her bottom lip as she cupped herself in front of Emma, though all the blonde could see was her hand down her pants. She eased two fingers into herself and moaned. She closed her eyes and threw her head back as she slowly pumped in and out.

Emma tried to squirm, but still couldn't do a single thing with her body.

Regina coated her fingers with her own wetness and removed them as she opened her eyes and looked back down at Emma. She got on her knees and leaned over Emma as she brought her fingers to Emma's mouth.

“Taste,” Regina purred.

Emma kept her eyes locked on Regina's as the brunette slid her fingers between her willing lips. As Regina pulled her fingers out of her mouth at a slow, deliberate pace, Emma felt her body loosen up. Her mouth followed Regina's fingers as she still had more to taste, the mixture of their wetness enchanting.

When Regina's fingers left Emma's mouth completely, the Sheriff realized she was sitting up, her lips incredibly close to the Mayor's as she felt Regina's hot breath on her face. She felt only a single breath as Regina quickly pressed her lips to Emma's.

Their teeth gnashed between Regina's tongue slithering into Emma's eager mouth as their lips smashed together over and over again.

Emma cupped Regina's face in her hands as their kisses continued to deepen with a carnal passion and raw desire.

Regina's right hand lingered up Emma's breast plate and throat. Her fingers found their place around the blonde's neck and gently grabbed hold of it. She pushed Emma down with that hand as she violently broke their kiss.

Emma hit the floor with surprise, her eyes wide as she lost her breath in the landing.

Regina held her down with her hand still around Emma's neck, but she didn't choke her. She continued to stare down at Emma and refused to say or do anything more.

Emma looked over Regina as the older woman leaned over her on her knees. When her eyes met Regina's once again, she swallowed her pride and gave Regina what she wanted.

“Fuck me,” Emma said.

Regina grinned and cocked her head to the side.

Emma sighed then spoke again.

“Please.”

Regina's grin spread.

“You're still missing the magic word.”

Emma furrowed her brow, confused.

“Do you _want_ me, Miss Swan, or do you _need_ me,” Regina helped her get to the right answer faster.

Emma's eyes flashed with a look of realization as her confusion dissipated.

“I need you.”

Regina let her fingers show Emma her appreciation for playing along as she forced three of them into the younger woman beneath her.

Emma moaned upon the first thrust and looked away from the her as Regina shifted.

Regina swung her left leg over Emma's right leg and rested her knee on the floor beside the younger woman's chest for leverage, her right knee on the floor between Emma's knees. Her left hand came up to Emma's face and gripped her jaw as she forced Emma to look at her.

Emma winced as Regina squeezed her jaw. It was the first time she felt the pain from being punched earlier in the evening.

When Regina felt she had Emma's attention, she moved her hand from the blonde's jaw to one of the bite marks she left on Emma's neck. She pinched the bruised skin between her nails and brushed her thumb against Emma's clit.

Emma let out a loud moan as she tried to pull away from Regina's pinching fingers, but arched her back and bucked her hips for more contact with the hand between her legs.

Regina curled her fingers and dug into Emma's walls as the blonde tightened around her. She continued to pinch the bite mark as Emma came and slowed her pace as the Sheriff rode out her orgasm. She only eased up on the mark when Emma sighed as all the tension in her body melted like butter.

Regina removed her fingers from Emma and cleared her throat as the younger woman's eyes relaxed shut. She stood up and looked Emma over before she turned to pick up her blouse then head for the door.

“The guest room is upstairs, third door on the right. I expect you up at seven o'clock tomorrow morning if you want a ride. I'll drop you off a block from Miss Blanchard's apartment and that is it.”

Emma opened her eyes as her natural high started to wear off and tilted her head to the side to look over at Regina.

Regina opened the door to the study and glanced over her shoulder at Emma.

“You can use the shower in the bathroom across from Henry's room so long as you don't take up all the hot water. There are fresh towels in the linen closet next to the bathroom and I will not wake you in the morning. I am not your mother so if you're not up at seven, you forfeit the ride. Are we clear?”

Emma nodded, still sprawled out on the floor.

Regina turned and walked out of the study. She left the door open for Emma and ascended the staircase to the second floor without looking back.

Emma sighed and slowly sat up. She cringed with every move she made as the events of the night started to take its toll. She grunted as she stood up and felt the pressure on her feet from the heels, something she'd forgotten about during her time on the floor.

She scanned the room for her underwear as she pulled her bra back over her right breast. When she found the lacy material, she swiped it off the floor with her index and middle finger and shamefully exited the room while she stepped over shards of glass and sticky sections of the floor from the spilled cider. She closed the door and left the mess behind her.

 _Tonight's mess is tomorrow's clean up,_ Emma thought as she ran a hand through her tangled hair and went upstairs.

Emma counted the doors on the right as she heard Regina start a shower behind the first door and awkwardly entered the foreign room. She felt the walls for a light switch and flicked it on when she found it.

She looked around at the plain yet elegant room. For a simple guest room, the black and white space was more than Emma had ever been accustomed to in her life. A queen size bed with white sheets and a plush white comforter was positioned between two windows on the far wall across from the door. There was a jet black headboard behind it and white walls with thin vertical black strips surrounding it.

A white vanity rested against the wall to the right of Emma with a circular mirror and rectangular desk, two drawers on each side. The curtains were white though slightly transparent as they flowed two inches past the window sills.

Simple yet regal. Even the guest room was fit to Regina's style.

Emma wanted to belong there, to fit in to such a fancy lifestyle. She wanted to believe she could have some of the finer things in life, but the way her life had gone so far had taught her she'd only ever achieve simple. Never elegant, never graceful, never regal.

Regina let the water heat up as she slipped out of her remaining clothes and removed her ring. She'd locked the master bathroom upon entry though she didn't normally because there was never any need. She was either home alone or had only Henry in the house. If Henry ever came into her bedroom while she was showering, he'd hear the water running and either leave a note or come back later. If she was alone, there was no threat.

But that night was different.

Emma Swan was two doors down the hall and had suffered through plenty of pain as well as pleasure for the evening. She had no idea if the blonde would seek revenge, try to tease and please Regina like she had been earlier. She wouldn't put it past the younger woman to sneak into her room and surprise her in the shower for embarrassment alone, but without knowing for sure what Emma would or wouldn't do that night, Regina took every precaution.

She stepped into the shower and placed herself under the hot water. She let it rush over her and trickle down her skin for a minute before she so much as moved. She turned around, her back to the shower head, and washed her hair. After a couple minutes, she rinsed out the shampoo and let thoughts of Emma seep into her head.

She remembered how Emma looked as she walked out of the woods with Leroy the first time, covered in dirt with evidence of the scuffle in her hair. She remembered getting Emma on her knees to beg for a ride like she wanted after she'd undetectably sent Leroy running off toward the bar, leaving Emma behind to worry about his safety.

Regina grinned as she thought about Emma on her knees. All the things she could get the younger woman to do while she was down there.

Her hand started to roam down the front of her body as the water cascaded down her back and steam rose from her warm skin.

She thought back to Emma on the floor in the study when Regina had gotten her off. She looked serene and vulnerable. Regina had satisfied her, got her to beg for a second time. Though the second time came with more struggle, she loved it all the same.

She knew Emma didn't really need her. She knew the blonde was self-sufficient and had even tried to finish herself off when Regina wouldn't, but hearing the words roll off Emma's tongue gave her a new feeling of power, a more exciting feeling of control.

She slipped two fingers between her slick fold and stroked it a few times before she slid into her opening like a runner sliding into home plate. Her breath hitched as she started slow, in and out.

As she looked back on her time with Emma that night, she realized something and it didn't sit right with her. Emma had never said her name. Sure, she'd called her “Madame Mayor” and “Mayor Mills”, but never Regina. And she hadn't called Regina anything when she reached her release.

She sped up her pace and thought about what she would do to get Emma to say her name. She wanted the younger woman to know who exactly it was that made her weak.

Regina quickened her pace once again as she swiped her thumb around and across her clit.

She wanted to see Emma writhe beneath her as she claimed the poor blonde, took possession and absolute control over her. She wanted Emma to bite her lip in an attempt to stifle a moan as she came, Regina lapping up the liquid with her hungry tongue.

Regina moaned as she felt herself coming undone, getting what she didn't ask of Emma earlier before she left the study.

She wanted Emma to need her, to want her, maybe even to love her so she could throw it back in the blonde's face that she'd been played.

She would bring Emma so close to her release, a flick of the wrist away from letting go, but wouldn't do so. She would leave Emma wanting more, never fully satisfied until she she got what she needed: submission.

Regina thrust a third finger inside herself and teased one of her hardened nipples.

Emma's impatience would grow and Regina would smirk. Finally, she would give the younger woman what she wanted.

“Regina,” Emma would slowly, breathlessly moan as she'd throw her head back and latch onto the brunette.

Regina moaned in her own release in the shower.

She slowed her pace, but took several seconds to let her orgasm wash over her before she withdrew her fingers.

Regina liked having that new power over someone, stronger than the hold she had on Graham as that new power would cause Emma to fall into submission without keeping her heart in a box.

When she made that conclusion, she grinned. She would have complete control over Emma Swan when she was through with her...and she was nowhere near finished toying with the poor girl.

Emma tossed her panties onto the bench at the vanity and went across the room to the dresser. She looked into the drawers one by one and hoped to find something to sleep in.

Unfortunately, the drawers only had spare sheets in them.

Emma frowned as she thought of a solution. Usually, she slept in a T-shirt and underwear, but her panties were soaked and she didn't think the Mayor would appreciate it if she slept nude in her guest bed. Though she wasn't sure the brunette really wanted her to get the sheets dirty with all the muck that was on her dress either.

She sighed and went to linen closet in the hall. She saw several white towels folded and stacked on two of the shelves, but also noticed two white robes on one of the higher shelves. She leaned onto the tips of her toes and grabbed a robe. She shut the closet door and started to head back to the guest room as the shower cut off in Regina's room.

She stood still as she thought about her options. Regina said she could use the shower as long as she didn't waste the hot water and Regina had already gotten her shower. She could take one if she wanted now that the Mayor seemed satisfied or she could go to bed and skip the shower until morning.

She looked down at the robe in her hands and thought about what Regina had said. She wasn't going to get a wake up call from the brunette and she wasn't going to get a ride from her if she wasn't ready to go at seven AM. Being the Sheriff meant waking up early to open the station, but she had a hard enough time as it was doing that let alone getting out of bed before nine.

She turned around, grabbed a towel from the closet, and slipped into the bathroom. She got a shower going and jumped in.

Emma wasted no time washing up. She got in, cleaned herself off, got out, and threw on the robe as the shower took maybe ten minutes. She started opening drawers in search for a brush and found only a black brush with a Batman sticker on it she assumed was Henry's. She honestly didn't care and hoped Henry felt the same way as she used it to brush out her knots, her long hair still wet.

She didn't bother to dry hair after she cleaned it out of the brush and put the brush back it the drawer. She walked out of the bathroom and made a bee line back to the guest room with her bra and dirty dress in hand.

She discarded her clothes in the same place as she had her underwear after turning off the lights and got comfortable under the covers. She slowly released a sigh and tried to relax in the comfortable bed. She felt no kinks in the mattress and the sheets were soft and inviting. She still didn't feel like she belonged there, but she liked feeling like royalty even if only for one night, even the smallest of ways. As she started to relax beneath the sheets, she gradually drifted off to sleep.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Birds chirped in the nearby distance as the sun shined through the slightly transparent curtains into the guest room. The room glowed with a soft golden hue and warmed Emma's face.

Emma frowned as she slowly woke up, but suddenly shot up when she didn't recognize her surroundings.

She peered around the room and saw all the nice, expensive furnishings in it. She looked down at the comfortable, plush robe she was wearing and sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger as she remembered the events of the previous night.

She had sex with Regina, rough, one-sided sex started by a fight about what Regina thought of her. Her body ached, every last muscle tense and all her cuts, scrapes, and bruises throbbed with a pulse of their own.

She felt around the bed for her phone and checked the time.

_7:30AM_

“Damn it,” she said through gritted teeth as she rushed out of bed and flew down the hall.

She knocked on Regina's bedroom door, but got no response. She cautiously opened it and peeked around it to see if Regina was still inside. She wasn't.

Emma groaned and rolled her eyes as she slunk against the door frame in defeat.

She'd missed her ride and would then have to walk back to Mary Margaret's place across town.

She needed to open the station in half an hour, but it would take at least forty-five minutes to get back to the apartment.

She shut the door then trudged back to the guest room and looked over at her clothes on the bench by the vanity. She lazily went to the bench and picked them up in a messy ball with her right hand. She looked over the dirty outfit and dreaded wearing it for even a second, but she had no other choice.

She slipped out of the robe and put on her bra. She decided not to wear her underwear because even though it wasn't the first time she'd had to wear clothes from the night before, after what happened in those panties that night, she didn't want to feel more uncomfortable than she had to.

She tugged on the dress and tousled her tangled hair in an attempt to make it look presentable. She folded the robe and thought about the best place to put it so Regina would see it.

She headed back into Regina's room and placed it on the foot of the queen size bed. Emma took the time to check out the Mayor's room and shook her head with a smirk at the decor.

The walls were white as were the Egyptian cotton sheets. It didn't look much different than the guest room except for the design on the walls and master bathroom inside the room. The door was open a crack and gave Emma a small view into more of the brunette's personal space.

Though her curiosity tried to get the best of her, she resisted the urge to go inside. Instead, she turned around and walked out of the bedroom.

She bounded down the stairs and tried to leave as quickly as possible, but stopped at the front door when she noticed a piece of paper taped to it with her name written in large letters at the top.

She furrowed her brow, pulled it off the door, and read it.

_Miss Swan,_

_You are to use the back door on your way out. Have a nice walk back to Mary Margaret's._

Emma rolled her eyes and crinkled up the note. She tossed the paper into the kitchen trash and headed out the back.

She started her long walk of shame down the street, commando and in her painful heels.

After what felt like an eternity, Emma could see Granny's at the end of the road and as hungry as she was, she couldn't risk exposure and she didn't want Ruby to question her about her beaten down appearance. The huge bite marks on her neck would be another obstacle.

She had to admit, Regina knew how to claim her victims and let the whole world know it. If she and Regina kept at it, she'd need the brunette to find new places to bruise her.

She thought about ducking around the corner once she reached the diner, but pulled her hair over either side of her neck and decided to confidently bare her indiscretions.

Ruby poured a customer a cup of coffee and glanced around the diner. She turned and looked out the window when Emma walked by.

The blonde seemed tired and upset. Her jaw was shut tight as she looked straight ahead at the road in front of her.

Ruby frowned as she watched her friend pass, but couldn't do anything about it. She knew she had taken Emma's car the previous night, per the blonde's request, and Emma said she'd find a way home, but Ruby wondered what had happened to the dress and why Emma walked like she'd been hit by a bus.

Emma tried not to hobble down the street as the heels pressured all her sore spots, but she had to wince when she felt her thighs sleepily rub together and tug at the gash on one of them caused by the glass shard.

Thankfully, the sun wasn't too bright to add to the pain in her face from being hit with a bottle of apple cider, but it didn't protect her from her growing headache and stiff muscles. Not to mention the tenderness of her hip caused by a bruise from one hell of a pinch. Emma learned something new every day and yesterday she learned the Mayor had a death grip not to be underestimated.

She continued on her long walk and managed not to fall flat on her face between Mary Margaret's and the diner. Truthfully, though, Emma's stamina had never been as challenged as it had been with Regina, especially during her morning after stroll through the town.

The school teacher was long gone and Emma was late to open the station, but she'd made it back. She was strong, though allowing Regina to use her body like a personal punching bag didn't necessarily show it.

Emma went to her room and hurried out of her dress. She carelessly tossed it into her hamper and changed into her usual combination of jeans and a T-shirt with her typical red leather jacket. She brushed her hair out again and inspected herself in the mirror. She looked like an absolute mess.

There wasn't a single part of her that didn't look beaten and worn with the exception of her arms. She had bags under her eyes, gashes, bite marks, and bruises from her face down to her thighs. Most of the damage had been done to visible parts of her.

She sighed and pressed her fingertips to her temples as she tried to think of how to hide them. She knew it would need make up, but she didn't have much and didn't really know how to use what she figured she might need.

She opened her drawer in the bathroom and pulled out all the make up she owned. She laid it out on the counter space in front of her and quickly looked over everything like she was trying to solve a timed puzzle. She picked up each part of her collection one by one as needed and applied them one after the other in record time.

She treated it like a science experiment the way she added and blended things to even everything out including her skin tone. Shockingly, she'd done a good job to hide the new and sudden imperfections and went down to the kitchen to make breakfast.

As she looked at the time, she made the split decision to settle for toast and take it on the go.

As she waited for the toast to pop up, she thought about the best way to get around for the day. Ruby had her car at the diner and she was late as it was to open the station. She decided she'd walk to the station and head to the diner for her lunch break as usual. From there, she'd be able to reclaim the car and drive it back to work.

In the time it took her to come up with that plan, her toast emerged from the toaster, hot and golden brown. She grabbed the two pieces she made and wrapped them into a paper towel then swiped the butter from the refrigerator.

She set the paper towel on the island and spread the butter over both pieces of toast. She placed the butter back in the refrigerator and dropped the knife into the sink. She licked the remnants of butter off a few of her fingers and took the paper towel from the island. She took long strides to the door and locked up behind her.

She got a good amount of cardio in on her way to the station even as she ate her toast during the fast walk. Once she was at the station, she felt like she'd already burned off her breakfast, which left her hungry and unsatisfied.

Then the phone rang and distracted her from her thoughts.

She hurried over to it and answered.

“Sheriff's station.”

“Is this Sheriff Swan,” a woman on the other end of the call asked, a little rushed and panicked.

“Yes, this is.”

“This is Meredith, Mayor Mills' secretary. I've been trying to reach you for about an hour.”

“Oh, I'm sorry. I just got in. I had some car trouble this morning.”

“Can you come to the Mayor's office right now?”

Emma furrowed her brow.

“Uh, it would take me a while to get there. Why?”

“There's a council meeting and your attendance is required.”

“Well, when's the meeting?”

“It should've started nearly an hour ago. That's when I started calling.”

“Oh, wow. Is there any way you could stall?”

“There's not much I can do and the Mayor isn't too happy right now.”

“Fine. I'm on my way,” Emma said then abruptly hung up.

She groaned as she left the station and headed to Granny's.

 _Guess I'll get my car back sooner than I thought_ , Emma mused.

After what felt like an eternity, Emma tiredly walked into Town Hall, out of breath. She looked straight at the secretary who perked up in relief when their eyes met.

“Conference room one,” Meredith pointed over her shoulder and to the left.

“Thanks,” Emma panted as she continued forward.

She didn't hesitate to open the door and the group of people she was supposed to be in a meeting with all stared straight at her from their seats around the long, rectangular table.

“Miss Swan, it's about time,” Regina begrudgingly said.

Emma held her tongue as she looked from the people to Regina then tore her eyes away to find and take a seat at the table with the others. She silently took the only available chair and took a deep breath.

“Now that we're all here, we might as well get started,” Regina said as she looked over the papers in front of her. “The first order of business is to introduce the new Sheriff. Miss Swan.”

Emma shook her head.

Everyone looked at Emma again.

“She's still a little new to town and clearly not too responsible, but I'm sure if we all give her a chance she'll prove valuable to this community.”

Regina didn't spend much time looking at Emma as she talked about the blonde, but Emma focused most of her attention on her.

“Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to open up the floor to our business owners to discuss our monthly profits since our last meeting.”

After an hour, it was over. Everyone was finally dismissed and the town could resume it's normal schedule.

Emma started to file out of the room with everyone else when a cold and commanding voice stopped her.

“Sheriff Swan, I'd like to see you for a moment.”

Emma rolled her eyes and stopped. She slowly turned on her heels and faced Regina. She stared at the brunette for a few seconds before she walked away from the door and further into the room.

“What kept you this morning?”

“Oh, you know, I woke up in some stranger's house with no way of getting home so I had to walk.”

“I hope you don't find yourself waking up in stranger's houses often. That's not too smart.”

“I'm sure if you knew the bitch and heard about how she trapped me there, you'd think more of me and less of her,” Emma bitterly smirked.

Regina angrily stared at Emma then took a few steps closer to her.

“I doubt it.”

Regina reached out and briefly squeezed Emma's right hip.

“Ah,” Emma winced and keeled over as she instinctively placed a hand in front of her hip.

Regina grinned and walked back to the head of the table.

“Close the door,” Regina demanded as she organized her papers into a neat stack.

Emma looked at Regina for a moment as she slowly stood up straight then turned and closed the door.

“Draw the binds.”

“Uhn-uh. I want witnesses.”

Regina chuckled.

“Please, I didn't do anything to you last night you didn't like, dear. Now...the blinds.”

Emma reluctantly shut the blinds then crossed her arms over her chest as she waited to hear what Regina had to say.

“Did you leave out the back like I told you?”

“Yes. I read your stupid note.”

Regina flashed a quick grin.

“Did my request offend you?”

“No.”

“Then why are you so tense?”

Regina abandoned her papers and approached Emma.

“You tell me.”

Regina licked her thumb and harshly rubbed it across Emma's cheek to expose the cuts left from the bottle of cider.

Emma cringed and immediately squirmed.

“For someone who doesn't wear much make up, you sure have a lot on today,” Regina said as she gripped Emma's jaw and turned the blonde's head to the side.

Regina frowned as she looked at the make up covered neck.

“How am I supposed to appreciate my work when I can't even see it,” she asked Emma.

“Don't,” she casually answered.

“That simply won't do.”

She grabbed Emma at the hips and forced her onto the table. With Emma's bad hip, it didn't take much effort.

Emma lay on the table, her legs hanging off of it by Regina, completely still as she tried to absorb the pain rather than endure it.

Regina salaciously smirked down at the blonde and stepped between her legs. She rested her hands on the table on either of Emma and leaned over the younger woman.

Emma relaxed as the pain faded and stared up at the Mayor.

“I must say, you're much more tolerable on your back,” Regina commented.

“Yeah? Well, you're much more tolerable...oh, I guess there's no end to that sentence. You're still intolerable.”

Regina shook her head again.

“You shouldn't say such things unless you're looking for trouble.”

“After last night, I'm looking for revenge.”

“Is that so?”

Emma slowly smirked.

“Why tell you when you can just find out for yourself,” Emma said as she swiftly leaned forward, barely sitting even halfway upright, and coiled her fist around Regina's right thigh.

Regina groaned and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Seems like I've got some work to admire too,” Emma quipped as she sat up completely and slid off the table.

She kept a grip on Regina's thigh as her movements forced Regina back toward the wall and watched the brunette run into it. Once she had the older woman pinned between her and the wall, she let go of the Mayor's thigh and rested a hand against the wall beside Regina's head.

“My turn.”

Regina grinned.

Emma pulled Regina's white blouse out of her black skirt and slowly started to unbutton it from the bottom up.

She slid the blouse aside, but didn't remove it and lowered her mouth to Regina's ribs. She kissed the purple patch of skin she'd elbowed the previous night and grazed her fingertips down Regina's body from her bra encased breasts to her hips. She continued to delicately kiss Regina's bruise for another minute as she felt the brunette sigh and relax in contentment.

Emma grinned before she gently dragged her teeth over the bruise. She nipped and pecked at it more ravenously each time Regina moaned or squirmed.

Regina would never admit out loud how much she enjoyed the tingling pain and the sweet pleasure mixed together.

No matter what Emma did, she still hurt. Every kiss she gave, her jaw felt like an inferno. Crouching down, she felt like the bruise on her hip was being pinched again. The cuts on her face as well as her inner thigh didn't appreciate her actions either, but she pushed through it. The pain was worth getting Regina off if it meant she'd have the power. She wanted to show no mercy like Regina threatened the previous night.

Emma's hand fell to Regina's knee and ran it up her thigh, under her skirt. She kept her touches light and gentle as she found the thin material between her hand and Regina's center.

Regina's breath quickened, but held a steady rhythm as she closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall behind her.

Emma got down on her knees and removed her hand from Regina's underwear.

Regina parted her legs the second she felt Emma's hand leave the place she wanted it most. She opened her eyes and looked down at the blonde grinning up at her.

Emma pushed up Regina's skirt and leaned in to her right thigh. She licked the bruise she gave the brunette the night before then bit it with force.

Regina moaned and hissed at the feeling as the sudden pain that revisited her thigh made her wet. She lifted her leg off the floor and Emma made sure to catch her before she threw herself off balance.

Emma placed a hand on the back of Regina's knee and carried the brunette's leg onto her left shoulder. She moved in closer to Regina as her mouth traveled up her thigh. She chastely kissed the damp fabric that masked Regina's apex and elicited another moan from the older woman.

Emma nipped at the material and pulled it down to her close and waiting hand. She hooked a finger inside and removed the obstruction. She bent Regina's leg inward, off her shoulder from the knee. She held Regina's leg, kept the brunette balanced, as she slipped Regina's panties past the woman's ankle and heel clad foot.

With the underwear still loosely wrapped around Regina's right leg, Emma threw the Mayor's other leg back on her shoulder. She let go of the thin material in her other hand and let it fall around Regina's ankle. She didn't bother to do anything more with it and ran her tongue between Regina's slick folds.

“Uhn,” Regina closed her eyes again and found Emma's hair with her right hand.

Regina balled up a fist in blonde tresses and held Emma's hot mouth to her center.

Emma took it upon herself to tease the older woman by spelling out “Regina” then flicking the Mayor's clit with the tip of her tongue at a brisk pace.

Regina started to tense and gripped Emma's hair harder with more desire and need.

Emma clawed at the back of the thigh on her shoulder and twisted two fingers inside Regina like a screwdriver.

Regina bucked her hips and lowered herself further onto Emma's fingers as she gasped at the wanted intrusion.

Emma chastely kissed Regina's bruise as she slid in and out of the brunette. She started at a calm, not too slow pace, but quickly picked up speed as she ran her other hand up Regina's backside. She raked her nails over the untouched skin and left four red scratch marks on the right cheek.

To make sure she caught Regina in case the Mayor squirmed away from her, Emma pressed her forearm against the back of Regina's thigh and gently cupped her backside. She bit Regina's bruise again but didn't hold back that time. She sank her teeth in like Regina's inner thigh was the first thing she'd had to eat in days. She added a third finger as Regina jolted in reaction to the unpredicted bite. She twisted the three of them counter clockwise as she temporarily removed them from Regina then curled them against Regina's walls and felt the older woman tighten around her fingers.

Regina used her free hand to clasp it over her mouth and stifle a moan. She tugged Emma by her hair and tried to pull her teeth away from her bruise as her thigh started to throb.

Emma eased up on her bite and made her tongue dance over the sensitive area before she kissed the bruise again with soft, parted lips.

Regina sighed in content as her hand loosened its hold on Emma's curls.

Emma moved back to Regina's sex and sucked the sophisticated woman's clit.

Regina's walls tightened once more around Emma's fingers and the younger woman saw the moment as her opportunity to get something out of the brunette.

She withdrew her fingers and pulled away from Regina. She emerged from beneath Regina's raised skirt and looked up at the Mayor.

She licked her lips free of any mess and tossed Regina's leg aside, carelessly off her shoulder.

Regina looked down at Emma with confusion as her right heel connected with the floor harshly and abruptly.

Emma grinned as he stood in front of Regina.

“You've got two options,” Emma confidently started. “You can be satisfied and let me finish here or we can both walk away from this now.”

“You want something?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“What could you possibly be demanding?”

“Time.”

“What?”

“With Henry.”

“Oh, that is _not_ happening.”

“Then I'll just end this right now,” Emma casually said and shrugged as she turned and headed toward the door.

Regina scrunched up her face and frowned as she felt her impatience for the blonde to satisfy her exponentially grew.

“Wait,” she called out as she stared down at the floor.

Emma grinned before she spun on her heels and faced Regina again. She slowly approached the older woman and stopped a few feet from her. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Regina to continue.

Regina took her time finding Emma's gaze and sighed.

“You can spend more time with Henry, but only when I deem it appropriate.”

“No. You've made it clear you don't want me near him so if I agree to that, you'll never think it's appropriate for me to see him. I want at least one day on the weekends with him and I'll pick him up after school on weekdays. I'll have him back at your place by seven every weeknight.”

Regina hesitated as she thought it over.

“Every night except Wednesday. You can bring him to my office by five. I take him out to eat before I bring him to Dr. Hopper for his weekly therapy session.”

Emma smiled then turned it into a pleased smirk.

“Okay. Now...where were we.”

Emma closed the space between them and resumed her position on her knees on the floor. Her eyes never left Regina's as she lowered herself, a wild glimmer in her eyes.

Regina felt the heat rising between her legs as she stared straight into Emma's green eyes. Though Emma got down on her knees, a submissive position like the previous night when she'd begged for a ride, Regina felt dominance radiate from the younger woman. Regina preferred to be the one in control, but seeing Emma fight back and regain the upper hand became a turn on for the Mayor. She blamed it on the last twenty-eight years being boring, no one to challenge her the way Emma did by pushing every button she cold until she found Regina's weakness, and allowed Emma to continue with her previous ministrations.

Emma wasted no time picking up where she left off. She pumped in and out of Regina as quickly and as forcefully as she had before she struck a deal with the older woman. She grabbed Regina's bruised leg and placed it back on her shoulder, but let Regina's heel press against her left shoulder that time.

The closer Emma got to Regina's center with her mouth, the closer Regina's knee came to her own chest. Emma's plan to open up the Mayor more worked as she licked the letters m-i-n-e with her tongue between Regina's folds.

She curled her fingers every other time she thrust into Regina and brushed the pad of her thumb over her clit as she moved her mouth away from her own hand. She nibbled at Regina's folds and tantalizingly scraped her teeth over various parts of the pink flesh.

The combination of Emma's actions sent Regina over the edge. She dug her heel into Emma's shoulder and the blonde cringed as she fought against the force, pushing her shoulder further against Regina's heel as she tried not to the let the brunette push her away.

Emma bit down on Regina's clit with reasonable, bearable pressure as she slowed her pace and let Regina ride out the wave of her muffled orgasm then lapped up the product of Regina's climax.

After achieving release, Regina gave a swift push to Emma's shoulder with her heel and successfully forced the blonde onto her back on the floor. She closed her eyes as she relaxed in a state of bliss and slid down the wall behind her. She stretched out her legs as Emma started to sit up.

Emma looked over Regina for a moment then leaned over and grabbed the older woman's left ankle.

Regina's eyes shot wide open as she stared across the small distance between them at Emma, their legs nearly in a tangled mess between them.

Emma lifted Regina's foot no more than an inch off the floor and removed the forgotten underwear from the Mayor. She pushed off her hands and stood up.

Regina looked up at Emma with a furrowed brow.

Emma extended her hand to the brunette.

Regina looked between Emma and the hand she held out to her. After a moment of debate, she accepted the hand and Emma pulled her to her feet.

“Now _you_ can feel what it's like to walk around town going commando. I had to do it all morning when I walked across town thanks to you. It's only fair you get to experience it too.”

Emma smirked and made her way out of the conference room. Seconds after walking out, she stuffed Regina's underwear into jacket pocket. She raised her fingers to her lips as she passed by the secretary's desk and licked them clean before Meredith had time to see what was on them.

Emma politely smiled at Meredith on her way out and proudly slid into her yellow beetle before driving off.

Regina tugged her skirt down and flattened it out before she buttoned up her blouse and fixed her hair. She took a few minutes to regain her composure.

It seemed the tables would turn several times before she broke the blonde. Regina thought about it and decided that would be fine. She could have even more fun with Emma than by solely destroying her. Not everything had to be work and taking down Emma Swan would be a full time job.

Emma headed back to the station, but when she returned she found a surprise outside the entrance. Ruby.

Emma parked her car on the curb and walked over to the waitress.

“What are you doing here,” she asked.

“I went on break early,” Ruby answered. “You told me when you came to get your car that you'd explain your rush later. It's later.”

Emma shook her head with a small smile as she unlocked the station and walked in, Ruby eagerly hot on her heels.

“So...what happened this morning,” Ruby started. “I saw you walk past the diner earlier. You look better now, but what the hell happened to your face?”

Emma brought a hand to face and gently touched the cuts. She just then remembered that Regina had smeared her make up there.

“I got into a fight with a bottle of cider,” she joked.

Ruby didn't laugh.

“Cider.”

“Yeah. It's no big deal. You should see the bottle,” she tried to joke again.

Ruby shook her head without even a hint of a smile.

“Really. It's nothing,” Emma shrugged it off.

Ruby stared expectantly at Emma like the blonde was going to tell her more.

“I don't want to talk about it. It's nothing I didn't and can't handle.”

“But it's something you have to handle? That doesn't sound good, Emma. I'd like to think we're friends and if there's something going on, someone hurting you...”

“If there was any real trouble, I'd tell you, but I've got it covered. I'm fine.”

“Well, does it hurt?”

_You have no idea,_ Emma thought as she tried not to feel the aches and pains all over her body, including the new pain in her shoulder from Regina's heel.

“Yeah, but it's not too bad. I've been worse back in Boston chasing after bail jumpers.”

It wasn't a complete lie. She had been in worse shape, but only compared to what Ruby could see.

Truthfully, Emma had never seen someone put up as much of a fight as Regina. She'd never hurt herself on any job as much as Regina had hurt her in one night and though she'd had a rough childhood, she'd never had to withstand as much as abuse as Regina threw her way.

“Okay, but if things get bad you'll let me know, right?”

Emma smiled. Ruby and Mary Margaret were the first two people that wanted to help her with anything. Knowing she had people to lean on made her feel safe, though she was nowhere near ready to share with the women like they encouraged her too. She wasn't molded that way after years of being on her own.

“Yeah. I'll let you know,” Emma told her.

“Good. So, do you think we could have another girls night tonight?”

Emma's eyebrows shot into her hairline. With the way her evening ended last night and what she put up with to get Regina back not fifteen minutes ago, she was tired. A night out that could possibly end in getting beat down by Regina again sounded like a nightmare. She might have been strong, but she needed a break. Even the best fighters, professional or not, needed time to bleed before going back at it.

“I don't know about that. I'm still a little worn out from running after Leroy.”

“I was thinking of spending the night in with Mary Margaret. We could stay up and watch movies.”

“That doesn't sound too bad.”

“Yeah, and there's no way you could get stranded without a car and have to find another way home in the morning...which, come to think of it, how did you get home this morning?”

_Crap._

“I, uh-”

“And...if you weren't back at the apartment last night, where the hell did you sleep?”

“Um...” Emma trailed off trying to think of a credible story, even a name of someone in this town other than only four people she knew. “Uh, Dr. Hopper. I started to walk back to the station with Leroy when Dr. Hopper drove by.”

“Oh, Archie found you?”

“Yeah. I mean, I'd only met him once when I first came into town. It's how I found out Henry was the Mayor's kid, but he recognized me and offered me a ride. I told him I lent you my car and said I'd just stay at the station overnight. That's where I slept, but I, uh...didn't want to spend the day in my dress from last night so I had to walk from the station to the apartment.”

“And you couldn't have come in and asked for the keys before you passed up the diner?”

“I'd just woken up. I wasn't really thinking. I just wanted a shower.”

Ruby smiled.

“I've had those days,” she nodded.

Emma smiled back, but more out of relief that Ruby brought her lie than anything else. She was also thankful she no longer had to play twenty questions with the vivacious brunette.

“They're a blast,” Emma sarcastically said with a smile. “What time do you want to come over tonight?”

“I close the diner around nine so is any time after that good with you?”

“Yeah. It might be a little late for Mary Margaret, but tomorrow's a Sunday so it's not like she has work.”

“Great. Guess I'll see you then,” Ruby flashed a large, pearly white smile.

“See you later,” Emma said as she watched Ruby spin on her heels and leave.

Emma breathed out a long, heavy sigh of relief as she leaned forward and rested her weight on her hands, palms down on the desk in front of her.

“Unless Archie had a serious make over, I'm pretty sure Regina was the one that drove us here last night,” Leroy piped up from the drunk tank.

“You must have been seeing things,” Emma started after a moment. “You were really drunk and it was dark. You just got confused. Archie's the one that took me to the station.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Then where'd you sleep? 'Cause it sure as hell wasn't here and I don't think you'd get too cozy with him.”

Emma stared Leroy down and decided not to answer him. She pushed off the desk and scrunched up her face as she quickly realized the damage it did to her latest injury. 

She walked into her office and shut the door before she sat down and started to look over the hefty paperwork leftover from Graham's time as Sheriff.

“Can you at least let me out of here,” Leroy called out. “I've got things to do and I'm sober now.”

“I'll let you out when I think you're stable,” Emma yelled back as her eyes never left the paperwork.

Leroy sighed, closed his eyes, and pressed his forehead against the cell bars in defeat.

After a long day at the office, Regina returned home to her lavish mansion. She'd gotten a call from Henry at work to let her know he wouldn't be home until after dinner. Though the words burned into her head as she heard them so she'd remember the rest of the day she'd be home before him, she still half expected him to be upstairs doing his homework or reading that ridiculous book of fairytales he couldn't seem to put down.

She checked his room out of habit, to double check that he was still out, then went to her room. Upon entry, she immediately saw the difference from the way she left the space. There was a robe folded on the foot of her bed. She hadn't put it there and Henry had been gone all day. It had to have been Emma.

_You were in my bedroom without permission,_ Regina thought.  _That, my dear, is a problem._

She made a mental note to punish Emma for her rudeness and went down the hall to see how the blonde left the guest room, curious after how she invaded the brunette's privacy.

When she opened the door, nothing looked out of place. In fact, the room looked as though no one had spent the night. That was until she looked to her right. A pair of electric blue panties rested on the bench tucked under the vanity.

She grinned and sauntered over to the bench.

She picked up the thin material and took it with her back to her bedroom.

_Looks like we're both out of a pair of underwear._

She tossed them into her hamper with the rest of her dirty clothes and took them down to the laundry room.

She threw in the first load, which consisted of her blacks and colors. She didn't have too many white clothes except for her blouses and a few sleep shirts so she normally reserved that load for last. She just hoped that Henry wouldn't come home while she was washing the strange underwear and spot the questionable and out of place article of clothing.

As she pressed start on the washer, she thought about what she wanted to do with the underwear. Her brainstorming lasted throughout dinner as well as Henry's arrival back at the mansion. She helped him into bed with thoughts running wild in her mind then helped herself into bed as she came up with a solution.

She drifted off to sleep with a smirk as she allowed the plan to play out in her head, but it made her wonder how she could possibly sleep when the plan excited her in ways more than one.

_Oh, what fun we'll have, Miss Swan. And the entire time you will never know that I will be your undoing. But for now, we're only just getting started._

 


	8. Chapter 8

“You don't mind that Ruby's coming over, do you,” Emma asked Mary Margaret as she placed a bag of popcorn in the microwave.

“No, it's fine,” Mary Margaret smiled as she sat down on the couch. “I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't even a little jealous last night.”

Emma smiled and grabbed water and sweetened iced tea out of the refrigerator. She walked around the couch and handed Mary Margaret the water.

“Well, that's why Ruby thought we'd see a movie. She wanted to spend time with you and figured this would be a good way to do it. Plus, I wasn't too receptive to going out after last night.”

“Oh, right. You were supposed to tell me all the details,” Mary Margaret tucked one leg under the other on the couch in excitement and faced Emma as the blonde sat down next to her. “What happened?”

“I drank, I danced, I chased Leroy down the street, and then tackled him into the woods.”

“Wow. Some night.”

 _And none of those were even the highlight of the evening_ , Emma thought.

“Yeah.”

Emma opened her bottle of tea and took a sip when someone knocked on the door.

Mary Margaret moved to get up and answer it, but Emma stopped her before she even had the chance to lift her backside off the couch.

“I'll get it,” Emma smiled as she closed her bottle and placed it on the coffee table between the couch and the TV.

She got up and let Ruby in with a smile.

Ruby beamed back at Emma and held up a bottle of red wine.

“I brought some alcohol,” she greeted with pep.

She held up her other hand and revealed three movies in her possession.

“And a small but good selection of movies.”

Emma lightly laughed and shut the door behind Ruby as she stepped inside the apartment.

“Hey,” Ruby smiled as she turned to Mary Margaret then walked over to the couch.

Ruby set the movies and wine down on the coffee table. She took a seat on the couch and tapped Mary Margaret on the knee.

“What do you want to watch? I've got Baby Mama, Grease, and an Austin Powers movie...just for the hell of it.”

Mary Margaret shook her head.

“Quite an interesting set of choices you brought with you,” Mary Margaret said.

“Yeah, there's no way I'm gonna watch any of those. You might get me with the satire in Austin Powers, but I wouldn't want to waste our first girls night in on that,” Emma said as she walked over to the couch and stood by the arm of it.

“We could watch Baby Mama,” Mary Margaret cheerfully said. “I heard it's good.”

“Oh, it is,” Ruby said as her eyes widened.

“Really,” Emma asked Mary Margaret. “I thought you'd be a Grease fan.”

“Well, of course, it's a classic. I just...I don't know. I'm up for more comedy than drama. Not the other way around.”

Emma thought about it.

“Baby Mama it is then,” she agreed.

The microwave beeped several times and Emma crossed the room to go back into the kitchen. She opened the microwave and pulled the hot bag of popcorn out with her thumb and index finger, carefully pinching one of the corners of the bag.

She closed the microwave and grabbed a large plastic bowl out of one of the cupboards. She set the bowl on the counter in front of her, shut the cupboard, and opened the bag. Steam rushed out to meet her face before she delicately handled the popcorn and poured it into the bowl.

Ruby popped open the DVD case and got off the couch. She opened the DVD player by the TV and set the movie inside as she bit her lip and smiled.

Mary Margaret turned up the volume as Ruby turned around and sat back down on the couch.

The TV screen went from blue to black when the player started to load the disk then previews for other movies faded in and filled the screen.

Emma tossed the emptied popcorn bag into the trash on her way over to the couch.

Mary Margaret grabbed the remote off the coffee table and pressed the menu button as the blonde situated herself between Ruby and Mary Margaret.

“You know,” Mary Margaret started as she set the remote down in her lap and looked at the other two women. “We could watch all three of these. It's not like I have to be anywhere tomorrow and I'm sure that as important as being Sheriff is, there's really not a lot happening in this town so you could open the station late if you wanted. And it's a Sunday so I'm sure Granny doesn’t need you at the diner too early.”

“Wow,” Ruby started. “You've really thought about this.”

“Yeah, what's with the sudden desire for company,” Emma asked as she furrowed her brow at the pixie haired woman.

“I, uh...um, I just...it's John Doe,” she answered.

“The coma patient at the hospital,” Ruby asked.

“Yeah, except we know his name now. It's David.”

“Somebody came to see him,” Ruby asked, surprised and a little happy.

“He woke up.”

“What?”

“Yeah. It was...surreal. I was reading to him one of the stories out of the book I gave Henry and he become responsive.”

“Whoa,” Ruby exclaimed as the DVD menu played in the background. “What are you gonna do?”

“I don't know.”

“Hang on a second,” Emma raised both her hands in front of Ruby and Mary Margaret. “Who is this guy?”

“He's been in a coma for as long as I can remember,” Mary Margaret started to explain. “I volunteer at the hospital. I usually stop by for an hour after work a couple days a week and I always go by his room. Sometimes I leave him flowers and other times I just wash his face or stroke his hair. Then I thought about Henry and why I gave him the book in the first place. It was to give him hope. I figured why not give David hope so I borrowed the book and read to him.”

“Well, you've been the only one by his side since you volunteered at the hospital,” Ruby started. “You should ask him out.”

“What? No, I couldn't,” Mary Margaret shook her head.

“Then at least talk to him. Find out more than his name.”

“That's all he could remember. I asked him if he had family nearby, someone I could call. He said the only thing he knew was his name and the sound of my voice.”

“So spend a little more time with him. Maybe you'll help him remember who he is, or he can just start over...with you.”

Mary Margaret shook her head.

“He's not being released from the hospital for a few more days. I'll see him then and if he wants to spend time with me, _he'll_ make that decision. He just woke up from a coma. I don't want to rush him into anything, especially if he doesn't want to get to know me.”

“That's smart,” Emma said.

“Thank you.”

Ruby rolled her eyes then smiled.

“Yeah, it is. So...because he's awake and you don't know what to do about it, you want us around?”

“No. It's because I have a hard time keeping my distance that I _need_ you two here.”

The three of them looked at each other and chuckled.

“And because I want the three of us to hang out together,” Mary Margaret added. “There's only ever two of us together at the same time. I'd like that to change occasionally.”

Emma and Ruby smiled at Mary Margaret.

“Then what are we waiting for,” Ruby asked as she reached over Emma and grabbed the remote out of Mary Margret’s hand that rested in her lap. “Let the fun begin!”

Ruby pressed play and set the remote down on the coffee table.

Emma held up the popcorn so the other women could get some as she popped a buttery piece into her mouth.

“Enjoy,” she said seconds before swallowing.

Ruby slept in borrowed pajamas as she lay on the couch with Emma and Mary Margaret. All three of them had fallen asleep halfway through the second movie around midnight.

Mary Margaret felt fatigue hit her a third of the way through the first movie and said she was going to change into more comfortable clothes. She asked if Emma or Ruby were tired and when they nodded, she offered the other brunette something to wear.

Once the three of them were ready for bed, they reconvened on the couch and finished the first movie. Not long after the three of them were still awake and had decided to put on the second movie as background noise to help them fall asleep.

After they put another movie in, they moved around and repositioned themselves. Emma draped her legs off the back of the couch and rested her head against Ruby's stomach while Ruby rested her legs on Mary Margaret's, her feet stuffed between the couch cushions and the pillow Mary Margaret slept on. Mary Margaret had her feet on a pillow on top of the coffee table. One hand rested on her stomach while the other hand gotten caught in a crease in Emma's gray, baggy sweatpants.

They weren't in those exact positions before they fell asleep, but that was how they ended up.

After six hours that only felt like twenty minutes, Emma started to stir. She squinted and blinked her eyes several times as she tried to stretch out when she realized where she was. She looked beneath her to see a body she didn't completely recognize then looked to spot Ruby's relaxed face.

When she slowly, carefully tried to sit up. She paced her hand underneath her right side, between the couch cushions and Ruby's left hip, she pushed off her hand and arched her back.

She maneuvered herself onto the back of the couch and slid off. She headed into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator as quietly as possible and started to prepare breakfast.

French toast, eggs, and bacon.

It wasn't until Ruby's phone rang that the other two woke.

Ruby sleepily felt around for the annoying device and picked it up without opening her eyes.

“Hello?”

Mary Margaret squirmed and tried to wake herself up as she started to feel the tension in her lower back and the kink in her neck.

Ruby got off the couch as the call continued and the more she moved, the more awake and aware she became of the new day. She walked around the coffee table and looked around for something as she finally spoke more than one word to the person on the other line.

“Sorry, Granny. I didn't think you'd need me.”

Mary Margaret sat up and frowned as she watched Ruby's unsuccessful search. When the waitress caught her gaze, she mouthed, “What are you looking for?”

“Clothes,” Ruby mouthed back then talked on the phone again.

“You're right. I should've checked with you last night to know when you needed me today.”

Mary Margaret got off the couch and went into her bedroom.

Emma pulled the last pieces of finished bacon off of the skillet and onto a plate on the counter with several other crispy pieces.

“Okay. I'll be there soon. Bye,” Ruby said into the phone then disconnected.

“Late for work,” Emma asked as she set the skillet in the sink.

“Yeah,” Ruby started as she walked around the table and couch and headed into the kitchen. “Granny needs me to help her open. Apparently, it's busy this morning and even if it wasn't, Granny's convinced I need to know how to run the diner.”

Mary Margaret emerged from her bedroom with Ruby's clothes draped over her right forearm. She smiled at Ruby when the waitress followed Emma's gaze to her as she approached them.

“Here,” Mary Margaret said as she handed Ruby her clothes. “When you changed in my room last night, I said it'd be fine if you left them on my bed.”

“Thanks,” Ruby gave a small smile.

“I can give you a ride if you want,” Emma offered.

“Are you sure,” Ruby asked.

Emma nodded.

“It's not a problem.”

“Okay. Thank you, guys. I had a really great time last night. We really should hang out more.”

Emma and Mary Margaret smiled.

“Of course,” Mary Margaret said before she turned her focus to the food on the counter. “Is this breakfast? For us?”

“Yeah. I got up before you two and decided to end girls night on a filling meal on this sunny day.”

“Sunny but still freezing,” Mary Margaret corrected.

“As long as there's not a lot of wind,” Emma started. “You should be able to feel _some_ warmth from the sun like yesterday.”

“And hopefully that's the truth for the rest of the week,” Ruby pointed at Emma as she looked between the blonde and Mary Margaret. “But...I really should get going.”

“Why don't you change then come out and at least have some french toast with us,” Emma suggested. “The drive from here to the diner is maybe five minutes and I doubt it takes you long to finish some toast.”

Emma and Ruby smiled at each other.

“Fine. Two pieces of french toast and the rest is to-go,” Ruby pointed at Emma with warning that time before she disappeared into Mary Margaret's room to change.

Emma had a small victory laugh to herself and got Mary Margaret to chuckle.

When Ruby joined them once again in the kitchen, the three of them had a short, semi-rushed breakfast together then Emma grabbed her keys and took off with Ruby.

She knew she'd need to shower so she came back to the apartment after dropping off Ruby and washed up. She dressed herself in tight denim and a white tank top with an electric blue bra that she should've paired with the underwear she wore the night she spent with Regina.

She slipped into her blue leather jacket and left behind the red as she made her way out of the apartment.

“I'm gonna be busy tonight, but I promise I'll be back for a late dinner if you wanna wait up,” Emma said to Mary Margaret as she reached the door.

“Sounds good,” Mary Margaret smiled. “What time should I expect you back?”

“Maybe around eight. I'll text you if anything changes.”

“Okay,” Mary Margaret smiled and nodded. “Have a good day.”

Emma waved goodbye, as did Mary Margaret, and she walked to greet the day.

“I'll see you tonight, Henry,” Regina smiled down at her son.

She turned to her friend Katherine and continued to smile.

“Thank you for watching him again.”

Katherine smiled.

“No problem. We always have a good time.”

“Yeah, but I'm ten. I can take care of myself,” Henry piped up.

“I know that,” Regina started. “I'm more worried about you running off and getting yourself into trouble.”

“What kind of trouble could I get into here? Everyone knows me and no one would let anything happen to the Mayor's kid if they could stop me.”

“Yes, but you don't like to stay here, do you? You ran off and found Emma, didn't you?”

Henry pouted, unhappy that he'd lost that fight.

Katherine smiled when Regina looked up again.

“If you run late getting home tonight, I'll gladly make dinner,” Katherine offered.

“Thank you. If that becomes an issue, I'll let you know,” she nodded. “The store will be fine without you, right?”

“I take every Sunday off to watch Henry. I've been doing it since he was two and no one has ever questioned my one day off so I'm at your disposal.”

Regina forced a smile.

She didn't like the way Katherine made their arrangement sound at the end of her statement. Though she loved having people at her disposal, she'd actually grown fond of Katherine. When she called the beauty shop owner her friend, she actually thought she meant it, but she'd never had friends before so she couldn't be sure. And for her friend to say she was a willing victim, usable then thrown aside like she was unimportant, bothered her.

“Regina?”

Katherine looked at the brunette with concern as Regina snapped out of her thoughts.

“Sorry. Lost myself in my thoughts.”

Katherine sweetly smiled as she accepted the answer.

“That's fine. You should really get to work. I know how much you pride yourself on being professional and being late isn't professional.”

“Right. I'll call you if there are any changes in my schedule. And really, I can't thank you enough for being here.”

Regina opened to the front door and gave Henry one last look over her shoulder before she got into her Benz and drove to the office.

She politely greeted her secretary as she walked in, but received no warning for what waited for her on the other side of her office door.

Emma Swan in the flesh.

The blonde sat comfortably in Regina's chair and flashed a mischievous grin.

“I see you like to make yourself at home quickly,” Regina started as she closed the door behind her. “You had no trouble going into my bedroom yesterday without my permission and you're sitting in my chair like you own it. I can assure you, you aren't entitled to anything that's mine.”

“Well, maybe I don't respect you enough to not share your things with myself, or stake some claim in them.”

“I'd be careful about how you respect me, dear. You're already going to pay for being in my bedroom. Don't make me start a list.”

“I was under the impression you already had one.”

“And what made you think that?”

Emma didn't say a word. She picked up her hair, swept it off her shoulder, and exposed the left side of her neck.

She didn't apply any make up to the large bite mark.

“I've got a few reasons.”

Regina grinned as he admired her work so apparently displayed on Emma's bare and pale neck.

Emma put her hair back down and covered the mark again.

Regina's grin faded as she spoke.

“What is it you need, Sheriff. You're obviously not here for your health.”

“I figured you'd want my number.”

Regina chuckled.

“That's awfully presumptuous of you, Miss Swan. If I wanted to fuck you, I'll know where to find you.”

“Oh, so yesterday...in the conference room, I convinced you to keep up our unspoken arrangement? Because I was talking about Henry. You do want to be able to get a hold of me so you can keep tabs on us when we're together, right?”

Emma stood and walked over to Regina. She smirked as Regina's lips parted and the expression on her face read of slight embarrassment.

“Yes,” Regina started after a moment. “That would be wise.”

Emma pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket.

“What's your number,” she asked the Mayor.

“I don't feel comfortable disclosing that information with you.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“I don't answer the phone for numbers I don't know and I'd hate to make the mistake of not answering your calls. If I don't know it's you calling, how am I supposed to not make that mistake?”

Regina sighed then gave Emma her number.

“Now yours,” Regina prompted as the blonde pressed button after button on her phone.

Regina pulled out her cell seconds before Emma stuffed hers back into her jacket pocket.

“You'll have it soon,” Emma grinned as she stared at Regina's phone.

Regina furrowed her brow as she looked over Emma.

Suddenly, Regina's phone buzzed with a text message from an unknown number.

She read the message.

“ _You want me ;) -Emma”_

Regina looked back up at Emma who was still grinning, though her gaze was then focused on Regina and not the phone.

Regina didn't know what made Emma so confident, especially since she was the one with the most bruises, but she liked it.

She turned around and closed the blinds. It didn't take long because there was only one window looking into the office from the hallway other than the window built into the door. She swiftly took care of both then turned back to Emma.

She walked toward her desk and grabbed Emma's hand on her way. She pulled the blonde back to her desk then spun around to face her.

“Under the desk. Now.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You won't.”

Regina pushed down on Emma's bruised shoulder and the younger woman winced as she got down on her knees.

Emma shook her head with a smile and got under the desk, her back against the black metal as she faced the chair.

Regina undid her dress pants and effortlessly pushed them down her legs. When the pants pooled around her ankles, she stepped out of them.

Emma gasped as she looked up at Regina's choice of underwear for the day.

“You're wearing my underwear! Now who's the one with entitlement issues.”

Regina kicked her pants under the desk and hit Emma in the face and chest with them.

“This will be much more enjoyable if you stop talking and put that mouth of yours to good use.”

Emma violently set the pants down on the floor to her right, still under the desk with her.

Regina sat down in the chair and turned to the side to give Emma only a profile view of her left thigh as she stripped out of Emma's panties.

She turned back to face the desk completely then opened one of the desk drawers and tossed them inside. She closed the drawer then reached over to grab the small, metal container that held a bunch of paper clips. She lifted it and swiveled the false bottom open to retrieve a key. She then locked the drawer she'd placed Emma's panties in and returned the key to its original place.

She pulled the chair in, which brought her knees to either side of Emma's face, and pressed the intercom button.

“Meredith, hold my calls and push my ten o'clock back to eleven.”

“Yes, Mayor Mills.”

Regina paid little attention to the woman's response as she felt Emma's tresses tickle her inner thighs. The blonde began to bury herself between Regina's legs and the Mayor was more than happy to see initiative from the girl.

Emma licked Regina's bruise with the tip of her tongue. The closer she got to Regina's center, however, she applied more pressure and used the flat of her tongue.

Regina balled up her fists as she pushed her wrists into the edge of her desk instead of vocalizing her pleasure to keep quiet.

Emma licked up Regina's inner right thigh all the way to Regina’s apex, but changed her direction and licked up to her hip. The action immediately made Regina wet with anticipation.

“You're a tease, Miss Swan,” Regina hissed through gritted teeth as she closed her eyes.

“You like it that way,” Emma purred as she opened her mouth then bit down on Regina's hip.

Regina moaned as she felt the blonde's teeth sink in.

Emma let her right index and middle fingers do the walking as she ran them up the Mayor's left thigh in a tantalizingly slow pace that made Regina itch with desire. She walked her fingers up to Regina's sex and swiped her thumb between her slick folds.

Emma eased up on her bite when her thumb reached Regina’s clit and caused the brunette to shudder. She then pressed the nail of her thumb against Regina's bundle of nerves in a crescent shape.

Regina bit her bottom lip and tensed her thighs.

Emma traded her bite for a lick and slid her tongue over the mark she'd left on the brunette's hip. She simultaneously slipped two fingers down Regina’s folds and temptingly massaged the area around Regina's opening.

Regina was then dripping wet as she became desperate for Emma to fill her.

“You may beat me down,” Emma started before she kissed half an inch below the hem of Regina's blouse. “And that might do the trick for me....”

Emma moved down less than an inch and kissed just above Regina’s sex.

“But I know how to play.”

Emma moved her thumb aside and kissed Regina's clit.

“Play you.”

She kissed Regina's clit again and sucked on it for a few moments after.

Regina moaned and spread her legs as far as she could within the limitations of her desk.

“I'll make you sing like a gospel choir,” Emma continued then dipped two fingers inside Regina.

Regina gasped and raised her right foot. Unintentionally, she hooked her heel in one of the belt loops on Emma's jeans as she slid further down the chair to give Emma more access. She tipped back her head and rested it on the back of the chair.

She flicked the tip of her tongue over Regina's clit then gently bit it while she moved in and out of Regina at a rushed pace.

Regina gripped the arms of her chair and emitted several small sounds of pleasure as her heel tugged at Emma's jeans.

Emma grinned against Regina’s center and kissed her bundle of nerves before she returned her focus to Regina's thigh. She nipped, licked, and kissed her way down Regina's thigh to the brunette's knee.

Regina groaned and opened her eyes. She looked down at her right hand watched her ring glow as her eyes flashed purple.

Emma suddenly felt a magnetic pull. She kissed her way back up Regina's thighs and ran the flat of her tongue up Regina's folds, from where her fingers pumped in and out up to the Mayor's clit.

Suddenly, Regina felt her power weaken. Her eyes went from purple back to brown and her ring dimmed.

Regina moaned as she tightened her walls around Emma's fingers. She didn't want to verbally demand Emma to do anything else to keep as much control over the situation as possible.

Her eyes flickered purple as she struggled to use her magic and ultimately was unsuccessful. Fortunately, Emma seemed to read her mind and added a third finger, oblivious to flicker of purple in Regina's eyes. She curled her fingers against the Mayor's walls with each inward thrust.

No longer feeling the magnetic pull, Emma moved up Regina's body as she used her left hand to gracefully, efficiently unbutton Regina's blouse.

Regina looked down at Emma as her breath hitched.

When green eyes met brown, Emma parted Regina's blouse and kissed her tan, taut stomach. She looked up at Regina again and bit her bottom lip at the sight of the Mayor gulp.

Emma slowed her pace as she studied the look on Regina's face.

The brunette's face was soft. Her skin practically glowed the closer Emma brought her to release, but there was something else, something hidden in her eyes.

Emma moved her thumb back over Regina's bundle of nerves and the Mayor bit her own bottom lip.

“I don't know if I should be so kind,” Emma stated. “See, I have this superpower.”

Emma slightly picked up her pace and pushed the desk chair toward the window behind Regina that gave a good view of the honey crisp tree in the yard. She didn't stop until the chair hit the wall and moved the rest of her body up Regina's. Her hips brushed against her wrist between them as she brought her lips inches away from Regina's.

Regina's knee nearly pressed to her chest with the placement of her heel. Even with Graham, she'd never found herself in such a position.

“I can tell when people are lying. And your eyes are saying you want this more than you'll let yourself admit out loud.”

Emma teasingly brushed her bottom lip against Regina’s upper lip.

“Uhn,” Regina moaned as her head tilted back more.

Emma kept her lips close to Regina's as she towered over the regal woman.

“I think I've been too nice to you this far. Maybe I should use that power and ask how much you want this, want me. If you lie, I can do things to you that would make us even in bruises.”

Emma dipped her head to Regina's neck and kissed her just below the ear.

“Should I be fair or do you want me to keep playing sweet in comparison to you?”

“You're...letting me decide,” Regina asked as she stared at Emma and squirmed in the chair when Emma sped up her pace again.

Emma smirked.

“I thought you'd be intrigued, or at least pleased.”

“Why are...you letting me....choose? That's...as....nice as...finishing what you started,” she panted.

Emma chuckled and removed her fingers.

Regina groaned.

“I understand getting even with me by threatening to not get me off because I did it to you, but technically...I should be the one making _you_ weak in the knees.”

“And maybe that's why I'm letting you choose.”

Regina took a moment to look over the blonde.

“Do you want to bruise me? Make it even between us as far as marking territory goes?”

“Is that how you see it?”

“Of course, dear.”

“You wish I belonged to you,” Emma grinned then stood up.

“I don't have to wish,” Regina said as she watched Emma reposition herself.

As Emma moved, she noticed Regina's heel stuck in one of her belt loops. She was careful to keep the heel in place as she straddled Regina in the chair.

Emma tested the Mayor's flexibility and admired their new position. She rested on Regina’s left thigh and kept the brunette's right knee to her chest, the heel successfully still in her belt loop.

“You already belong to me, Miss Swan.”

Regina reached out and slowly moved Emma's hair aside to expose her uncovered bite mark.

“You're far from owning me, Madame Mayor, and let me tell you why. You said you were going to punish me for being in your bedroom and yet, here we are discussing how _I'm_ gonna get _you_ off.”

“I hope that's not to say you think I'm all talk because you'd be wrong about that.”

“You still haven't told me how you want the rest of this scenario we're in to play out,” Emma cockily argued.

Regina grinned.

“The things I could do to you,” she thought out loud as she sized up the younger woman.

“Guess you'll have to save them for another time,” Emma said before she braced the chair with her left hand and lowered her glistening fingers on her right hand down between them.

She ran her middle finger along Regina’s folds then maneuvered her left leg under Regina's bent leg to square herself up with the Mayor. She plunged three fingers inside Regina and grinned when the woman beneath her gasped at the intrusion.

“You'll have to choose how I do this next time because, like you, I can't wait to see how this ends.”

Emma leaned in again and kissed across Regina's neck just below her jaw line. When she reached the right side of Regina's neck she brought her mouth to the brunette's pulse point. She kissed it then pinched the tight skin between her teeth in a gentle bite.

Regina moaned and parted her lips as she closed her eyes again. A wave of vibration started in Regina's throat and thrummed against Emma's lips.

Emma slowly pulled her fingers back and threatened to remove them completely before she thrust them back inside. She followed the bite with a lick then a kiss. She grazed her lips up Regina's neck and whispered in her ear.

“Looks like I'm gonna win this round.”

“I'll _let_ you win if you shut up and finish,” Regina opened her eyes and slightly turned to look at Emma.

She only caught the sight of blonde curls, even with her peripheral vision, as Emma's position prohibited her from moving her head much.

Emma felt Regina try to look at her and slightly tipped her own head back as she swiftly brought her gaze to meet Regina's.

Emma smirked. She could get used to that side of Regina, still bossy but not as a vicious or intimidating.

Instead of saying something else, Emma quickened her pace yet again and lowered her mouth to Regina's collarbone. She kissed it over and over again while occasionally nibbling on the soft skin as she made circles with her thumb over Regina's clit. To weaken Regina even more, Emma slipped her left hand into the cup of Regina's bra and teasingly swept a fingertip over her nipple.

It didn't take long for Regina to reach the edge and let go. She cupped a hand over her mouth as she moaned through her orgasm.

Emma grinned into her next few kisses as she moved from Regina's collarbone to her untouched breast. She kissed the area above the material of the bra's cup and snaked her tongue out as she slowed her pace. She waited for Regina to reach a full release before she retracted her fingers and gave a final, chaste kiss to the top of Regina's right breast.

She slid down Regina's body, which gave Regina's leg a break as the heel remained stuck in the belt loop, and lapped up the product of Regina's climax with her tongue. She removed her left hand from Regina's bra and brought it to the brunette's ankle. She pulled Regina's heel out of her belt loop and ran her hand up the Mayor's calf before she set the woman's foot on the floor.

Regina panted as she tried to catch her breath and relaxed against her chair like melting chocolate.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

Regina's eyes shot wide open in panic and Emma immediately followed the older woman's movements.

“Mayor Mills,” Meredith asked from behind the closed door. “Is everything alright in there?”

Regina would've pushed Emma back under the desk if Emma hadn't taken every physical cue from the brunette. She fluidly slid under the desk as Regina pulled her chair closer to it and hid her exposed lower half.

Regina quickly worked to button up her blouse as Meredith slowly opened the office door and peeked inside.

“Yes, Meredith,” Regina bitterly asked. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I'm sorry, Mayor. I thought I heard noises coming from your office. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“As you can see, I'm fine,” Regina tried to remain calm, her breathing not one hundred percent regulated yet.

“Wasn't the Sheriff in here with you?”

Emma grinned.

“She was. She stepped outside to take a call. She'll be back any minute.”

Emma stared at Regina, her most private physical attribute in full view in front of her. She crookedly smirked and moved between the woman's legs.

“Well,” Meredith started as Emma closed in on her target. “Mr. Gold called. He'd like to see you as soon as possible.”

Regina gasped, but tried not to show it as she felt Emma sneak her tongue between her folds and glide upward from her opening to her clit.

“Y-yes,” Regina nearly hissed. “Well, I'm, uh, hmm...busy. I've got...my hands _full_!”

Meredith quizzically looked over Regina as she watched the woman shift in her seat, her voice all over the place in terms of pitch.

“With the Sheriff,” Regina finished her statement.

Emma hooked her thumbs under the backs of Regina's knees and carefully pulled the Mayor's backside further down the chair.

Regina's knees hovered closely to the underside of the desk.

Emma licked her way back down Regina's folds and darted the tip of her tongue inside her opening.

Regina's breath hitched.

“ _Are_ you okay, Madame Mayor,” Meredith asked as she took a step closer to Regina's desk.

“Per. Fectly f-fine,” Regina struggled to say as she closed her legs around Emma's neck.

Emma felt a little strangled, but continued her actions. She licked halfway up Regina's folds again and tilted her head to the side as she gently bit one of Regina's lips.

Regina braced the edge of her desk with her right hand and gulped. She ran her leg down Emma's back and raked her heel against Emma's white tank top along the way.

Emma slid her tongue over the area she'd bit then ran her tongue up to Regina's clit. She flicked the tip of her tongue over the bundle of nerves and corkscrewed a single finger inside Regina.

“Let me...finish my meeting with...Miss...Swa-a-a-n,” Regina started as she fought to keep her eyes open and stifled a moan. “And I'll call Mr. Gold back, okay?”

Meredith nodded.

“Yes, Mayor Mills.”

Meredith walked back to the door and closed it behind her on her way out.

Emma curled her finger then pulled it back before quickly slipping further inside Regina's opening. She repeated the action a few times as she made her tongue dance over and around Regina's clit then bit the woman's other lip.

Regina couldn't fight off another moan and let one escape as Emma's teeth clamped down on her lip.

Emma grinned into the bite before she released Regina's lip and licked the area she'd marked like she had with the other one.

Regina came a second time and threw her head back in ecstasy.

Emma slowed her finger to a complete stop inside Regina as the Mayor rode out her orgasm. She kept her head in place, though she stopped using her tongue on Regina's sex, until Regina dropped her legs to either side of Emma with her feet on the floor once again.

She pulled away from Regina then removed her finger before going in once more to lick the Mayor's folds clean.

Regina lazily rested her left wrist and the back of her hand against her forehead as she closed her eyes and let a moment of blissful calm wash over her.

When Emma was done, she tapped Regina's right thigh two times in warning before she pushed the woman's chair away from the desk. She licked her lips as she came back into the light.

Emma remained on the floor as Regina stared down at her. She lifted her slickly coated fingers to her mouth and sucked them clean. Her eyes never left Regina's as she did so then pulled Regina's chair closer to her. She slid up Regina body again and breathed the same air as her.

“Want a taste,” Emma asked as she left her lips parted.

Regina looked from Emma's eyes to her lips. She leaned in and flicked her tongue across Emma's upper lip. She got a small taste, but not as much as she would have had she kissed the blonde.

Emma leaned in the rest of the way and swiped her tongue across Regina's bottom lip, which got the brunette to part her lips more. She slipped her tongue inside and slid it across the top of Regina's tongue, careful not to kiss her.

Regina slid her tongue under Emma's and got a stronger taste of herself, but their lips only brushed each other if they ever touched.

Both pulled back at the same time.

Regina cleared her throat before she began.

“Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“When Meredith came in. You started something with me.”

Emma chuckled.

“Yeah, that was fun.”

“Not for me, it wasn't.”

“Oh, please. You liked it more than anyone in the room. I could tell,” she teased.

Regina didn't look too happy.

“What if she'd found out?”

“She wouldn't have. If I thought she was suspicious enough to figure it out, I would've stopped.”

Regina breathed out a quick sigh through her nose as she clenched her jaw.

Emma grinned at Regina before she grabbed the Mayor's dress pants from the floor then stood up.

“Keep my underwear,” she said before she dropped Regina's pants in her bare lap. “I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to switch them back if it's what we want.”

Regina softly cleared her throat as she finally controlled her breathing.

“I suppose we will,” she agreed.

Emma continued to grin as she turned and headed for the door. A few steps away from leaving, she stopped then turned back around to face Regina.

“By the way, I'm taking Henry for the day.”

“What?”

“Yeah. I figured, why wait? We made a deal and I miss him. I'll make sure to have him home for dinner.”

Regina shook her head.

“You've got my number now so if you need anything or want to check in, which I'm sure you will, feel free to call. See ya later.”

Emma smirked as she turned then grabbed her blue leather jacket off the coat rack and left, once again pleased with herself.

 _I could get used to this feeling,_ she thought.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Emma drove straight to the Mayor's house.

_108 Mifflin Street._

She smiled as she stared up at the grand white house with black paneling around the windows. She came up the walkway with her hands in her pockets, her shoulders relaxed.

She took a minute to enjoy her victory as she stood on the front porch before she rang the doorbell.

After a moment, a blonde woman Emma didn't recognize answered the door.

“Hi,” the woman politely greeted with a smile. “Are you looking for the Mayor?”

“No, actually. I'm here for Henry,” Emma said as she tried not to tense out of discomfort.

The woman looked over Emma, bewildered as she kept a hand on the door.

“I'm Emma,” she introduced herself after a moment. “Regina probably didn't tell you about me. I'm...Henry's birth mother.”

Henry, as if on cue, bounded down the stairs and beamed when he saw her.

“Emma!”

Emma smiled.

“Hey, kid!”

“I'm going to need to call Regina and confirm this.”

“Okay. I can wait.”

“Um, all right. Come in,” Katherine warily stepped aside to let Emma through the doorway.

“What are you doing here,” Henry asked as he led Emma into the dining room.

“I'm gonna spend the day with you.”

“My mom will never go for that,” Henry shook his head.

“Oh, I think she will. She and I came to an agreement. I'm gonna spend one day on the weekends with you and we'll get to spend a little time after school together on weekdays.”

“And my mom's okay with that,” Henry disbelievingly asked.

“I...made your mom an offer she couldn't refuse,” Emma thought quickly on her feet and explained.

Katherine picked the phone in the kitchen and called Regina. She waited a few rings before the brunette answered.

“Hey, Regina. ...No, everything's fine. Henry's okay, but there's a woman here. Emma.”

Emma looked at Katherine and watched the woman's reactions as she talked to Regina.

“Yes, she says she's here for Henry,” Katherine continued.

Emma looked over at Henry as they waited by the dining room table. She nervously picked at the white table cloth and smiled down at the boy.

He smiled back at her and she rewarded him by brushing a few stray strands of hair out of his face with her fingers.

“Oh, okay. No, that's fine. Okay. I'll talk to you later. Bye.”

Katherine hung up and sighed to regain her composure as she moved from the kitchen to the dining room.

“I'm sorry if I seemed rude. It's just that I usually watch Henry on Sundays and when Regina left for work this morning, she didn't mention you'd be coming by today.”

“Oh, that's my fault. I went down to her office and told her I wanted to spend the day with him not too long ago. She didn't know then.”

“Oh...well,” Katherine started then trailed off before she looked to Henry. “Guess I'll see you later, Henry.”

She smiled at him and rubbed his shoulder before she turned back to Emma.

“I'm Katherine, by the way. I'm a friend of Regina's.”

“Hi,” Emma smiled at Katherine.

“It was nice to meet you.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Emma nodded.

“I should be on my way.”

“Yeah, us too.”

“We're not staying here,” Henry asked Emma.

“No. I've got to get to the station and I thought I'd bring you with me. Is that okay?”

“Yeah!”

Emma chuckled.

“I'll walk you out,” Katherine said as she headed for the door.

Emma and Henry followed.

Katherine got into her car she'd parked in the driveway while Emma and Henry got into the bug parked on the curb.

Emma could've parked in the driveway out of defiance and for the simple fact that Regina wouldn't know if she'd parked there.

For some unknown reason, Emma thought about what it'd be like to park in the Mayor's driveway. The thought didn't last long as Henry brought Emma back to reality.

“So, have you thought any more about what I told you?”

“Told me about what,” Emma glanced at Henry and frowned as she headed to the station.

“My mom? She hasn't used magic lately, but I know she can.”

“You're still trying to convince me she's the Evil Queen?”

“Because she is! Everyone in town...they're all in the book.”

Emma sighed.

“Kid, fairytales...they're stories. They're meant to inspire us and take us away from reality, you know? Give us hope.”

Henry sighed in frustration.

“But she _has_ magic here. Whatever deal you made with my mom to spend more time with me, it's bad. She won't stop until she wins and you're in her way.”

“I'm trying to be in her way.”

“Why?”

When Emma really thought about it, there was more than one reason. She opted to give Henry a PG explanation.

“To get to her. I want to prove her wrong.”

“How are you gonna do that? You don't believe you're the Savior. What could you have to prove?”

“That she isn't better than me.”

Henry didn't understand. He didn't try to understand by asking her what she meant. He kept quiet and looked out the window.

“Just be careful around her. You don't believe me now, but you will.”

“You keep saying that.”

“I mean it.”

Emma shook her head with a smile.

“Determined, stubborn. You're starting to sound like me.”

“And _her._ ”

Emma furrowed her brow.

Henry noticed and elaborated.

“You and my mom aren't so different. She fights to have control, which helps her protect herself, and you fight to protect people, including yourself.”

Emma thought about it for a moment. Though she hadn't known him or Regina long, he had a point. Maybe her stubbornness was what made it easy for her to go toe to toe with the town's most feared citizen.

“So...you're gonna pick me up from school? Like every day,” Henry asked.

Emma snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at Henry. His face showed pure, innocent hope that what she said was true. It made her smile.

“Yeah. How do you feel about that?”

“Happy! I can't believe my mom agreed to it, but...I'm glad she did,” he beamed.

Emma's smile widened.

“Me too,” she softly admitted after a moment as she turned and looked back at the road.

After a fifteen minute drive, Emma and Henry arrived at the station. Henry was quick to get out of the car with a bounce in his step as he rushed to the locked doors.

He looked back at Emma as she shut her car door. When she smiled at him and started to walk over to the station doors, he waved her over with urgency.

“Come on,” he said as she got closer.

“Why do I feel like you're more excited about my job than I am?”

“Being here with you is like 'take your kid to work day.' It's a fun way to bond with you, with my mom.”

Emma nervously smiled at him as she moved to unlock the doors. She felt a pang tug at her heart as he said “mom” in reference to her. She wanted to be his mom, at least one of them, like she should've been ten years prior. Regina had been that for him when she couldn't, though, and the more she thought about it, the more she feared that ruined her chances of truly being his mom. The more she looked at his precious face, seeing how much he believed in her, she hated herself for missing all his firsts. His first steps, his first birthday, his first words. She even hated herself for missing the bad firsts like his first fever, his first fall, his first boo boo.

She opened the doors and stepped back to let Henry run inside before her.

He cheerfully rounded the corner and jogged down the hall while she smiled to herself and closed the door behind her.

She slowly, less enthusiastically walked inside and followed Henry's lead.

He waited for her outside Emma's office with a little more patience than he had at the station entrance, but Emma knew he wanted to get inside as quickly as possible.

She took longer strides to get to him faster and unlocked her office. Again, she let him in first and watched as he went straight to her desk chair.

He made himself comfortable and spun side to side in the chair a couple times. He pulled the chair closer to the desk and started to look through the paperwork sprawled out on top of it.

“You've got a lot of stuff to do,” he said as Emma took a seat on the other side of the desk.

“Yeah.”

“Can I help you with it?”

Emma tilted her head as she thought about it.

“Maybe. Most of them are just complaints, city ordinance claims. A little less than half of them involve having a conversation with your mom about property laws.”

“Is that why you're avoiding all this?”

Emma chuckled.

“Yeah. The last thing I want to do is talk to her about city laws. Most of the complaints are probably things I can't do a thing about with property lines and all those neighborly grudges.”

Henry smiled.

“I'd pay to see you and my mom talking about all this.”

“Well, eventually I'm gonna have to meet with her about it, or at least borrow the code book or whatever has all the information about this from her.”

“Can I be there when that happens,” he asked as he sat up straight in the chair.

Emma laughed and shook her head.

“Definitely not.”

Henry frowned and sunk back in the chair.

“I'm gonna review the files before I go to her. I want to know what I'm dealing with, what I can fix so your mom doesn't think I'm wasting her time. You know how she gets about that.”

Henry nodded.

“So what can I do to help while I'm here,” he asked.

“Um, well, I guess you could help me put clean sheets in the cells for starters.”

“Wow. I knew this town was boring, but do you have to do that kind of stuff _every_ day?” 

Emma laughed.

“No. I try to switch the sheets every week. If someone stays in one of the cells, though, I make sure to change those sheets as soon as possible after their discharge.”

“So...crime fighting number one, cleanliness number two on the Sheriff's top priorities list,” he joked.

“You got it,” she smiled and pointed at him.

She looked at him for a moment as he looked back down at the case files that took over her desk. He opened one up and she furrowed her brow as a thought came into her head, a way to help them bond like Henry wanted.

“I don't know if you're aware of this, but...I'm looking for a deputy. With all the time I'm gonna be spending with you, why don't _you_ be my deputy?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You can help me every weekend. For the whole day we're together if you want.”

“Awesome!”

“Now, is there a day on the weekend you prefer or are you okay with whatever day I can hang out with you?”

“Any day is fine,” he smiled.

“Great. I'm thinking I'll take you every Saturday so I don't keep Katherine from spending time with you.”

“Katherine's nice, but I rather spend the day with you.”

“Well, I'm not saying you wouldn't spend the day with me, just not Sundays.”

“On Saturdays, my mom tries to take me to work with her. I spend at least half the day with her and then the other half with Archie.”

“Your therapist?”

“Yeah. My mom drops me off at his office before she goes to work and then she picks me up during her lunch break. I spend the rest of the day at her office.”

“And you want to keep doing that?”

“I like Archie...and his dog Pongo. And...my mom seems to like it when I'm around, even when she's busy working, so I don't mind.”

Emma nodded. She knew what it was like to live a life without Henry. She didn't want Regina to ever know that feeling of emptiness she did after Henry found her, like her life meant absolutely nothing until he walked through the door. She may have wanted to tangle with the brunette, but she didn't need to use Henry to crush her.

“Okay. I guess every Sunday then you'll be my deputy,” she smiled across the desk at him.

He smiled back and flashed his teeth, ecstatic.

“What about after school on weekdays?”

“If I told you, it wouldn't be an adventure, would it. Every day after school lets out is gonna be a surprise. What do you think?”

“You're the coolest.”

“Thanks.”

“We're gonna have so much fun.”

It warmed her heart to hear those words from him. Her number one goal then would be to make sure she never let him down.

“Yeah, even while we put those sheets in the cells,” Emma said as she stood up. “Come on.”

Henry jumped out of her chair and followed her out of the office.

Emma opened the supply closet in the hallway and grabbed a few sheets off one of the top shelves. She looked down to see Henry waiting at her side and handed the sheets down to him.

When he seemed to have a firm grip on them, she let go and shut the closet. She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him toward the cells that lined the far wall of the work room as the sheets blocked his vision. She gently pushed him forward and guided him over to the cells.

She unlocked the first cell she brought him to and took one of the bed sheets from him.

Henry peeked over the top of the other two sheets in his hands and watched Emma pull off the dirty sheet and replace it with the clean one.

She brushed off the pillow, no case for it or any of the others in the remaining cells, then folded up the dirty bed sheet and tossed it over her right shoulder as she walked back toward Henry.

Henry stepped out of the doorway of the cell to let Emma through and watched her head to the next cell.

“You wanna do this one, kid,” she asked as she unlocked the second cell.

“Yeah,” he answered from behind the sheets.

Emma smiled and pulled open the cell door. As Henry approached the cell, she grabbed the top sheet in his hand and walked over to her old desk. She set the dirty sheet on top of it while she continued to hold the other clean sheet then made her way back to the doorway of the cell Henry was in.

Henry did as Emma had in the first cell and replaced the dirty sheet. He folded it up and dusted off the pillow then left the cell.

“Looks good,” Emma complemented his work.

“Thanks.”

Henry looked over at the desk Emma had placed the dirty sheet on and headed over to it. He set the sheet he'd collected from the cell on top of the one already on the desk and turned to Emma with a prideful smile.

Emma smiled back.

“I can already tell I made the right decision hiring you,” she told him.

He chuckled.

“One cell left. You wanna handle it, _Deputy_?”

He walked up to Emma and took the clean sheet from her hand then grabbed the keys.

“Gladly,” he answered as he walked past her and unlocked the last cell.

Emma watched him with a smile plastered clear across her face.

He struggled a little to find the right key to unlock the cell, but was quickly successful and used a lot of the strength he had to pull open the heavy door. Once inside, he repeated his actions for the previous cell and confidently strode out with the dirty sheet folded over his right forearm. He placed it on top of the other sheets on the desk and looked back at Emma as she stepped toward him.

He handed over the keys and she took them with a wider smile than she had as she'd watched him work. She rustled up his hair, something she'd already done once that day that he quickly realized he'd enjoyed, then removed the sheets from the desk.

“I'll wash these tonight at Mary Margaret's. I'll put them in the supply closet tomorrow morning for next week,” Emma told Henry as she walked toward the closet. “Until then, I'll keep them on the second to last shelf near the bottom of the closet.”

Henry followed her to the gray supply closet that wasn't much bigger than the linen closet outside the bathroom on the second floor of his house.

“I don't usually keep the closet locked so next weekend, if you want to start on this right away, you can do all yourself.”

“Okay.”

Emma shut the closet then looked down at Henry again.

“Alright, now that that's done, why don't you and I look over all those forms in my office.”

“Now you're speaking my language,” Henry nodded.

Emma shook her head and giggled.

“You're a goof ball.”

“Must be genetics.”

Emma's jaw dropped, though she still had a hint of a smile on her face as she stared at him with wide eyes.

“Oh, really. You think _I'm_ a goof ball?”

“Yep.”

“You don't even know me like that,” she kept up their playful conversation.

“Well, I know I don't get it from my mom,” he gave her a hinting look.

She rolled her eyes with a grin.

“Then I guess I need to watch myself around you. I don't want you to actually witness me being a goof ball. You have no idea what that would do to my reputation.”

He chuckled.

“It's okay. I'd still like you if I saw you being a goof ball,” he sweetly confessed.

“Good, because I still like you even though you're _without a doubt_ a goof ball.”

He laughed.

“Cool, but I think it's time we get to work. There's a lot of paperwork to get through and I want to make sure we get through at least half of it today.”

“Look at you, Mr. Professional.”

“What? I don't want you to get too busy you can't see me.”

“No, that would never happen. Nothing could more important than being with you.”

“You mean that?”

“Of course. I may have given you up, but I didn't do it to be selfish. I didn't do it because I didn't want you. I did it to give you your best chance.”

He paused as he thought about it.

“Do you still think my mom is my best chance?”

“Kid, your mom may be a lot of things, but a quitter isn't one of them. Just like fighting with me, she's not gonna stop fighting _for_ _ **you**_. You're lucky to have her in your life.”

“I'm not so sure about that.”

“What? Henry, come on. She's your mom. You love her, don't you?”

“Yeah, I mean, she did raise me and...she's been there for me.”

“Exactly. She was there for you when I couldn't be. Even though I'm here now, doesn't mean you should just abandon her. Promise me you won't lose sight of that.”

Henry scrunched up his face and took her words to heart.

“Okay.”

“Good,” Emma slowly smiled as she spoke after a moment. “Let's get to that paperwork. We've got plenty to get through before lunch.”

After a few hours of working at the station, Emma took Henry to Granny's for lunch around one.

“I know your mom probably wouldn't approve, but order whatever you want and that goes for every Sunday from now on,” Emma told Henry as they sat down at one of the tables in the middle of the diner.

“Yes,” Henry hissed with victory. “This is gonna be awesome.”

Emma smiled as Ruby walked out from behind the counter and sidled up to their table.

“Hey,” Ruby greeted with a large smile spread across her face. “It's nice to see you two here together. What's the occasion?”

“My deputy and I need to refuel before we go back to staring at a huge, disorganized pile of paperwork,” Emma informed her.

“Deputy, huh,” she asked as she looked from Emma to Henry.

“Yeah,” he smiled back at her.

“And what does the new deputy like to eat? The last one we had in this town had a pretty big appetite.”

Henry chuckled as Ruby and Emma looked at each other. He watched Ruby laugh under her breath and wink at Emma before he held up a menu and scanned through it.

Ruby looked back at Henry and waited for him to decide on something.

“Um,” Henry hummed as he started to scrutinize over his choices. “I think I'll have the Classic Burger with cheese and extra pickles...with a side of fries and mashed potatoes.”

“Mashed potatoes and fries,” Emma asked with a puzzled expression. “Don't you think that's way too much potatoes for one day?”

“You're right. Instead of the mashed potatoes, can I get two dinner rolls?”

“Sure thing,” Ruby smiled at him. “And for you, Emma? Your usual?”

“Actually, I think I'll try something different today. Can I get the Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies on the side?”

“No problem,” Ruby said as she scribbled down her order.

Emma and Henry shared a look.

“Mashed potatoes,” he asked.

“Yeah. I was gonna share them with you, but if you're gonna judge...”

“No, mashed potatoes is fine,” he quickly corrected with wide eyes.

Ruby and Emma laughed.

“I'll also bring out a plate of Granny's famous sweet bread,” Ruby added as her laughter died down. “She's been perfecting it for years and last week, she made her best batch I've ever tasted. She's never shared it with anyone but me, but we've got some in the back that I'm sure you two will love while you wait for your food.”

“Thanks, Ruby,” Emma said.

“Free of charge, too,” Ruby added.

“Oh, I don't mind paying for it. If it's as good as you say it is, I'd love to help Granny market it to the general public.”

“You can do that without paying for it. You'll be the first to try it outside the family so if you like it, rave about it and that'll be your payment. Plus, Granny's still unsure about serving it here. She's worried it's good enough.”

“Nonsense. I'll be the one to determine that.”

“Okay. I'll be right back,” Ruby said before she spun on her heels and disappeared into the kitchen.

“That's a big order you made,” Emma said to Henry as she directed her attention back to him.

“You said to get whatever I want. My mom doesn't really let me eat burgers. I thought now would be the best time to have one.”

“As long as it doesn't fill you up, I respect your decision. Your mom will kill me if you don't eat your dinner.”

“There's still plenty of time before dinner and I might not even finish my lunch so there should still be room for whatever my mom cooks.”

“I'll take your word for it, but you better not being lying to me or it's my butt on the line.”

Henry smiled.

“If it ends up being a lie, I didn't want it to be.”

“Then I guess I won't hold it against you later if that's the case.”

“Now that we're talking about dinner, do you think you could stay tonight?”

“For dinner? At your house?”

“Yeah.”

“We already tried that. You're mom wasn't too thrilled.”

“So? I liked eating with you. Most of the time it's awkward with my mom. She won't know what to talk about so she just asks me about school. Lately, she's asked me if I've run into you, but that was before she let you hang out with me. I don't know. It's...better when you're around.”

“Better for who?”

“Me. I think...having my mom talk about anything other than school or talking at all is better than silent or boring dinners, even if that means she's mean to you. That sounds bad, but-”

“No, it's okay. I think I get it. You don't like how uncomfortable things are between you and her during dinner and when I was there, it gave you two something to talk about. And it also gave us time to talk.”

“Right.”

“Look, I don't think you're mom's gonna be too happy about it, but I'll ask her if it'll make you happy.”

“It will. Maybe we could even have a dinner together, the three of us, every month.”

“I don't know, kid.”

“I know. It's a lot to ask. Right now, I'm only asking for tonight, but I think we can make it work.”

Emma forced another nervous smile. He had high hopes of being in the same room as her and Regina. She guessed it had something to do with wanting to spend a good amount of time with both of his mothers, but beyond that she had no idea why he was adamant to put the two of them in the same room for a considerably long time when he knew they didn't get along. It also didn't make any sense when he kept trying to prove to her that Regina was the Evil Queen and warned her to be careful around the brunette.

At that point, it didn't matter. As much as she wanted to get under Regina's skin, as much as that task meant to her in terms of keeping her in town, she also stayed for Henry. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to not only make sure he was okay, but happy as well. She wanted to make sure he didn't suffer the same dreary childhood she did. She wanted to make sure he didn't travel down the same dangerous and lonely path.

_ I don't want you to be like me,  _ Emma thought as she looked into his soulful hazel eyes. 

Maybe Ruby was right. Maybe being around Regina was getting to her as much as she thought she was getting to Regina. It didn't take much for her to doubt or think badly about herself, but Regina's words slowly started to seep from the back of her mind to the front as she looked at him.

She was a fool to love Neal. She was a fool to think that the first guy that opened a door for her was worth her affection. Though Regina's words were more harsh than the way Emma thought back on the situation, she believed there was truth to it.

She shook her head to shake the negative thoughts from her mind. The day with Henry was going too well for small moments of saddening reflection to ruin it.

“I'm a big fan of milkshakes,” she smiled at Henry. “Thick and chocolatey. That's the way I like 'em. Want to order one with me?”

“Share one?”

“Yeah, or you could get your own. It's up to you.”

Ruby came back with the bread and placed it on the table between the two of them.

“Your food should be out within the next five or ten minutes,” she said as she pulled away from the table.

“Can we get a large chocolate milkshake? With two straws,” Henry asked, a little louder than his normal voice to make sure he would be heard.

“Of course,” Ruby exclaimed.

“Thanks,” Emma said before Ruby left again.

She briefly watched her friend leave then looked back to Henry.

“I couldn't have asked for a better Sunday,” she said.

Since she had Henry with her, Emma closed the station at five thirty, about an hour and half earlier than she normally did. With his help, they managed to separate the paperwork into three different piles, organized by what Emma's ability would be to solve the problems.

For his first day on the job, Henry worked hard to prove his capabilities. Emma didn't want to belittle him by trying to give him a simpler job than looking over the dozens of forms they had to read during shift so she kept her mouth shut and let him work.

He'd been extremely helpful and ended up learning a lot about what he'd read over. It didn't slow them down considering Emma's lack of attention to the paperwork altogether and admittedly, it made her a little proud of Henry.

“You did good work today,” she said as she drove Henry home.

“Thanks.”

“Are you tired?”

“Maybe a little.”

“Still full from lunch?”

He shook his head.

“What time do you get out of school tomorrow?”

“Three.”

“Where can I meet you?”

“Out front. There's usually a pick up and drop off area some of the parents go through.”

“And what does your mom do?”

“There's a bench near the turn around off to the side of the school. It's still in front, but she can avoid the traffic if she parks the car and meets me at the bench. Usually, she just parks in the fire lane and I run over to the car. Hers is the only one there so she isn't parked too long.”

“Would it be okay if I started doing that?”

“Well, your car is the only yellow car I've seen in town so I think you could get away with parking there. I'll probably see you coming from down the street.”

Emma laughed.

“You got me there.”

He smiled then rested against the passenger side door and closed his eyes.

“Think you can make it through dinner, kid,” Emma asked as she glanced between him and the road as they approached Mifflin Street.

“Um hmm,” he managed as he started to close his eyes.

_Oh boy,_ Emma thought.

After a few minutes, Emma parked on the curb outside the house with Henry knocked out in the passenger's seat.

She got out of the car and came around to Henry's side. She slowly opened the door and caught him as he started to slide out with it. She gently nudged him back in the seat as she ran a hand through her hair. She looked him over and tried to decide the best way to get him to the house.

She tucked her hands under his arms and lifted him out of the car. She clumsily but carefully rested him against the car on his feet, though she carried his weight, then bent over and grabbed him by the waist. She picked him up and set him over her unbruised shoulder, though the other one protested her every effort to get him inside.

She was surprised that he had slept through her graceless movements, but didn't stop to think about it. She closed the car door and focused on making it up the walkway.

It took her at least an extra minute to make it to the front door, but she made it without dropping him or having to stop to reposition him. She held him close as she turned to ring the doorbell with her left hand and shifted his position on her shoulder only slightly as she waited.

Regina opened the door with a frown as she looked over Henry then Emma.

“What happened?”

“He fell asleep in the car.”

“He hasn't done that since he was six. What did you do to him?”

“Nothing. Listen, he's kind of heavy and I'm still sore so could you just let me in?”

“I don't want you in my house.”

“Fine. Then why don't you take him and I'll leave you to carry him all the way up the stairs and into his room.”

Regina looked at Henry then at Emma. She sighed and stepped aside to let the blonde in as she kept her gaze trained on the floor.

“He's going to miss dinner because of you. He shouldn't skip a meal.”

“He had a big lunch. I think he'll live,” Emma defended when she reached the stairs.

“I left work early to make dinner because you just had to take him today,” Regina started as she followed Emma upstairs. “If Katherine had watched him like she always does every Sunday, she would've gotten dinner started for me and I would've left at my normal time.”

“Well, get used to it. Henry wants to spend Sundays with me.”

“The hell he does. Sundays are spent here with Katherine.”

Emma tried to keep her volume down as she spoke, but anger was apparent in her tone.

“I asked him what day he wanted to be with me. He told me he spends most of his Saturdays with you. I don't want to step on Katherine's toes, but I thought that would be better than cutting into his time with you.”

Regina didn't have a response. She looked down at the stairs as they reached the top of the staircase and wondered why Emma would do something nice for her. Then the thought occurred to her that it wasn't for her, but for Henry.

She shook her head.

“Even that isn't a good enough excuse for me to forgive the fact that my son is asleep before seven. He's going to wake up in the middle of the night and stay up for a couple hours then he won't get up for school in the morning.”

Emma stopped outside of Henry's room and slowly, carefully turned around to face Regina.

“I'm sorry, okay? He wanted to help me at the station so we did some paperwork. I made sure he was fed and that nothing happened to him while he was with me. That's a _lot_ better than you thought I'd be with him, right?”

Regina looked to the left, away from Emma's intense, angry gaze, but kept her expression stoic and unreadable.

“Next weekend I'll make sure he eats _then_ falls asleep at the appropriate time.”

“I don't know if I want you to have him on Sundays.”

“Then when I can see him? Unless you want to give up your Saturdays...” she trailed off to give Regina time to answer, but she didn't. “That's what I thought. You better believe I'll fight for Sundays.”

Regina looked Emma up and down before she spoke again.

“Get him into his bed and we'll talk.”

Emma stared at Regina for a long moment before she turned to face the closed bedroom door then opened it as she held Henry like she had when she rang the doorbell.

She walked into his dark room and took slow, deliberate steps to the bed to make sure she didn't bump into or trip over anything.

Regina folded her arms against her chest and leaned against the doorway as she watched Emma lay Henry down on his bed.

Emma tucked her right arm under his knees and lifted his legs. She grabbed the comforter and pulled it from the head of the bed down toward the foot of the bed. She set his legs down then held up Henry's left foot by the ankle and removed his shoe. She held onto the shoe as she repeated the process for his right foot then tucked him in.

She set his shoes down on the floor on the opposite side of his nightstand, out of his pathway to keep him from tripping over them in the morning.

Emma turned back toward the hallway and noticed Regina watching her. She stood still in the room for a moment before she pushed forward and walked toward the older woman.

Regina didn't bother to step out of the way when Emma reached the doorway. She forced the blonde's arm to brush against hers as Emma made her way into the hall.

Regina grinned at the contact and noted that Emma wasn't aggressive about it. She thought about what shoulder she'd forced Emma to brush against her with and realized it was the left, the shoulder she'd bruised with her heel the other day in the conference room.

Regina bit her lip as she turned away from Henry's room and quietly closed the door behind her.

Emma was already halfway down the stairs when Regina started her descent. When she reached the foyer, Emma spun on her heel and faced the stairs as Regina made her way down the last four steps.

“Are you gonna let me have Sundays with him,” Emma wasted no time and asked.

“Let's discuss this in the parlor, shall we,” Regina held out her hand as an invitation for Emma to head into the room behind her.

Emma looked from Regina's eyes to her extended hand then sighed and rolled her eyes. She turned around once again, her back to Regina, and made her way into the parlor.

Regina grinned again as she followed close behind the blonde. When she entered the room, she immediately but quietly closed the door behind her.

Emma started to face Regina again, but mid-turn the brunette pushed her onto the couch face first. Emma didn't know what was happening as Regina moved too fast, but she quickly tried to push off the couch to at least sit up.

Regina wouldn't have it, though. She quickly straddled Emma's hips, her center pressed against Emma's lower back through thin, electric blue material. Her skirt tried to limit her movements, but Regina placed one hand between Emma's shoulder blades to keep her on the couch and used the other to tug her skirt up toward her hips.

Emma puffed out a heavy breath of air to push her long blonde locks out of her face as she looked out toward the table.

When Regina's skirt no longer struggled to stretch and move with her, she moved both her hands up Emma's body. Her right hand, the one that had previously worked on her skirt, pushed Emma's shirt up to the middle of her back under her blue leather jacket while her left hand went from between Emma's shoulder blades to her curly tresses.

Regina gently pulled Emma's hair out of her face and toward the back of the couch.

“Let me tell you how this is going to go, Miss Swan,” Regina started as she lowered her mouth to Emma's neck and kissed it. “I'm making an addendum to our original agreement.”

Regina pushed off of Emma's back with both her hands and sat up. She brought her hands back to Emma's shoulders and tugged Emma's jacket off. She tossed it across the room and lowered her mouth to Emma's right shoulder blade as she pulled the tank top and one of Emma's bra straps down her arm.

Regina smirked as she noticed the color of the bra Emma wore for the day. It matched the underwear Regina wore even as she straddled the younger woman.

She kissed a patch of skin then nipped at it with her teeth in a soft bite.

Emma slowly closed her eyes.

“You can watch Henry on Sundays on one condition.”

Regina curled her body into a “C” and pushed Emma's tank top up to the band of her bra. She kissed the middle of Emma's back then bit a little harder than she had on her shoulder blade.

Emma tensed but bucked her hips forward and curved her back into Regina's bite.

“Do you want to hear the condition,” Regina asked as she sat up again.

Emma opened her eyes and rested her stomach flat against the couch again.

“Yes.”

Regina lifted herself off of Emma's lower back, but kept her knees pressed into the couch. She grabbed Emma's right shoulder and pulled it back toward her to turn the blonde over.

Emma took Regina's cue and helped her. She flipped herself onto her back and stared up at Regina. 

“When I call, you come.”

Emma looked at her quizzically.

“If I want you to fuck me or if I want to fuck you, I'll send you a text. No matter what you're doing, no matter who you're with, you drop everything to satisfy me. Are we clear?”

It seemed easy enough, but Emma felt herself resist.

“What if I don't like that condition?”

“Then Sundays are off.”

“And if I agree? Sundays are mine?”

“Yes.”

“What about after school? That's still on the table, right?”

“Of course.”

“Even if I don't accept your new terms?”

“Yes, but I doubt you'll give up Sundays. Unless you were bluffing upstairs when you said you'd fight for them. This, my dear, is the only way you can fight for them.”

“And what's happening here? Right now?”

“A bonus round. You may have been successful in my office this morning, but I'm not about to wait for a new day to start to show you who has had and will always have the power in this little game we're playing.”

Emma looked Regina over from her eyes down to her thighs. She'd pulled her skirt up far enough to reveal a sliver of blue material. She stared between Regina's thighs for a few moments.

Regina took Emma's chin between her index finger and thumb and gently forced Emma to meet her gaze.

“Answer yes to this question and you agree to the addendum. Do you want Sundays?”

Emma reached out and ran her hands up Regina's thighs.

“Yes.”

Regina grinned and leaned in as she allowed Emma's hands to roam. She released Emma's chin and pulled down the left side of Emma's tank top past the cup of her bra. She kissed the exposed part of Emma's left breast several times and swiped her tongue across the smooth expanse of skin.

Emma lowered her hands back down the back of Regina's knees and suddenly yanked the brunette closer.

It caught Regina off guard and caused her bite Emma's breast.

Emma moaned and felt the heat between Regina's thighs hit her stomach. She reached under Regina's skirt and hooked her index finger inside the blue material. She pulled the panties to the side and teasingly ran a finger through Regina's folds.

Regina moaned into the next kiss she placed on Emma's breast. She felt Emma's thumb travel from her clit down to her opening and threaten to dip inside her. She licked the same area of skin she bit and cupped Emma's other breast through the tank top and bra. She lightly squeezed it when Emma shallowly inserted a single finger into Regina then removed it. The tantalizing touches were enough to make her wet.

She extended her neck and kissed Emma's throat just beneath her jaw. Emma moaned and sent a vibration from her throat to Regina's lips. Regina felt butterflies in her stomach as her muscles tensed with anticipation.

In that moment, she realized a change in pace. They'd started slow and moved together instead of pushing and shoving, starting rough and ending with bruises.

Emma's hands found the zipper in the back of Regina's skirt and pulled it down. She started to remove the article of clothing completely when Regina grabbed her wrists and threw them down above her head on the couch.

“Time to pay you back for being in my bedroom,” Regina wickedly grinned as she kept Emma's hands pinned to the couch for only a moment more.

Emma bit her bottom lip as Regina let go of her hands and used them to roll up hem of her tank top.

Regina pulled the tank top further up Emma's chest.

Emma recognized the movement as Regina trying to get rid of the shirt and sat up to help the brunette. She lifted her arms and let Regina peel the thin, white fabric over her head. She licked her lips as she stared up at Regina, the older woman's pleased gaze and devilish grin directed at the blue bra she wore.

“Couldn't have been a better moment if we'd planned it,” Emma said.

Regina's eyes slowly moved up from Emma's chest to her green eyes, her grin as devilish as it was predatory.

Emma nearly shivered as she watched Regina look her over like prey.

Regina quickly leaned in and carnally bit Emma's sternum. The harder she bit, the more pressure she applied with her lips around the outside of the mark she'd leave.

Emma groaned at the initial contact, but it turned into a moan the longer Regina kept her mouth on her skin. Her right hand shot up and found Regina's short brunette locks as she squeezed her eyes shut. She laced her fingers in Regina's hair and gently gripped at the soft tresses.

Emma's left hand reach up under the side of Regina's skirt until her hand cupped Regina's backside. She squeezed it and pulled Regina's center down to her lower stomach as she fell back onto the couch.

Regina's lips never left Emma's sternum through the fast and unpredicted movement. She felt a hunger build up in her that she never knew she had. She'd heard stories of succubi and their sexual hunger, which was what she could easily compare her new found lust to, but she never thought she'd desire someone on such a level. She'd craved Graham's touch after a few weeks of being alone, but it was only out of need for physical comfort.

What Regina felt then was something entirely different and unexplainable. But in a time like that, she didn't want to explain it. She just wanted it.

Regina slid a hand up the left side of Emma's body and gripped her at the crook of her neck. She pushed the other hand against Emma's left hip and dug her nails into the soft, pale skin. Though she clawed at Emma, she didn't do much damage. She didn't draw blood. The most she did was leave red scratch marks.

Emma took a deep but jagged and interrupted breath as she lifted her hip into Regina's touch. She felt a heat rise inside her and burn its way throughout her entire body. When Regina moved from her sternum to the bruise on her shoulder, Emma raked her nails over Regina's backside down to the back of her thigh.

She gritted her teeth and hissed as Regina lightly bit the sore, sensitive skin. She positioned a knee between Regina's thighs and rolled them off the couch.

Regina's eyes shot open a split second before they fell and waved her arm in the direction of the table, which was close enough to the couch that they could've hit it.

The table glided across the room and Regina landed on her back under Emma. She rolled them over once more and regained her dominance over the blonde. She rested her right hand, the one she'd used to move the table out of the way, against the hardwood floor beside Emma's head. She stared down at the younger woman, her blonde tresses splayed out on the floor around her neck and shoulders.

Emma stared back at Regina as both panted almost in sync with each other. In their moment of silence, she dared herself to reach out again and hook her fingers in the waistband of Regina's skirt. She started to pull it down again and that time was granted the privilege.

Regina slid forward, her hand on the floor moving over Emma's head as she extended her body. Her breasts were in Emma's face by the time she stopped her movements.

Emma fought to stay on task and pulled Regina's skirt down her backside and over her thighs. When she made it to Regina's knees, the brunette took Emma's bottom lip between hers in a kiss.

Regina rolled onto her back and looked at Emma as she pulled the skirt down the rest of her legs then kicked them away when it had been removed.

Emma rolled onto her left side and popped up onto her left elbow and forearm. She was about to roll onto Regina when the Mayor met her halfway and slipped her left knee between Emma's thighs. She tangled her leg between Emma's legs and slid her ankle under Emma's right calve.

Regina had Emma's right leg under the control of her left and tugged the younger woman down to her chest as she intertwined her fingers in blonde curls.

Emma fell into place and unbuttoned the top five buttons on Regina's blouse. She held it to the side as she kissed the top of Regina's left breast.

Regina's lips parted as she slowly closed her eyes. Her hand ran through Emma's hair until it traveled down the blonde's back. She stopped at the clasp of Emma's bra and started to undo one hook at a time.

Emma peeled Regina's blouse down her left arm and pushed her light gray bra strap with her thumb in the same direction. She folded the cup of Regina's cotton bra down her breast to expose a hardened nipple and flicked her tongue over it.

Regina moaned and opened her eyes as she slowly fell onto her back, her arm around Emma as she stopped her work on the blue bra, but kept her hand on the clasp. She brought Emma down on top of her and brought both hands to the clasp of Emma's bra. With a quick pinch, she unhooked the last two metal bindings. She ran her fingertips up Emma's back to her shoulders and sunk her nails in as she pulled the straps down Emma's arms.

Emma sucked on Regina's nipple then gently raked her teeth over the surrounding area.

Regina flipped them over in the opposite direction, back toward the couch, and pulled away from Emma's mouth with a heavy sigh. The cold air hit her exposed nipple as she completely stripped Emma of her bra. She flung the bra in the same direction she'd kicked her skirt and gave herself a short moment to enjoy the view of Emma's freed breasts.

She lowered herself onto Emma and wet her right breast with her tongue before she bit the soft, round flesh. Her stomach and Emma's pressed flush against each other as she started a rhythm with her hips. She dipped her hips low and brushed her underwear covered center against Emma's dark, tight jeans then lifted her front off Emma. On the second time she brushed her center against Emma's, she didn't lift her hips at the end of her movement. Instead, she pushed herself down Emma's jeans and rubbed her center against Emma's. Back and forth, she created friction between them as she ravished Emma's chest with her tongue, teeth, and lips.

Emma closed her eyes and let out a long moan as she pushed her center harder against Regina's as they moved together. She arched her back and held Regina to her chest.

Regina reached between the two of them and unbuttoned Emma's jeans. She slipped her hand under Emma's panties and slid a finger between her folds while her other fingers cupped Emma's sex.

Emma bucked her hips in an attempt to slide Regina's fingers down to her opening, already wet from rubbing against the brunette.

Regina pulled her fingers back up to Emma's clit and faintly pressed a fingertip to the bundle of nerves.

Emma's breath hitched and caught in her throat.

“Hmm,” Emma half moaned, half groaned.

As pleasurable as the touch was, it wasn't where she wanted Regina.

“Lower.”

“No,” Regina purred after her lips left Emma's chest.

Emma opened her eyes and met Regina's gaze as the woman slithered up her body to make eye contact.

“Not yet,” Regina finished as she brought her mouth incredibly close to Emma's jaw.

Regina licked across Emma's jaw line to her left ear, tracing the bruise she'd given Emma during their first time together with the tip of her tongue.

Emma turned her head to the side to expose more of her jaw and neck to Regina and brought a hand to her jeans. She pulled them down for Regina and made the Mayor grin.

“Someone's eager tonight,” Regina whispered in a sultry tone in Emma's ear.

Emma's eyes fluttered shut as she felt Regina's hot breath on the shell of her ear. She used her other hand to run up Regina's stomach, under the blouse.

The simple touch caused Regina to close her eyes. She brought a hand to Emma's and placed it on top of the Sheriff's hand during her slow journey to Regina's breasts.

Regina slowly opened her eyes as she started to feel breathless and light headed. Her eyes glowed purple and a plum colored smoke swirled around her pupils. She felt her magic building up inside, scraping the surface of her being. She'd never experienced that feeling before and wasn't sure what was going to happen.

Emma reached up and cupped Regina's center. She curled her fingers and gripped Regina before she pulled the brunette completely down on top of her with both hands. She rolled Regina onto her back, moving further away from the couch, and kissed her neck the second she pinned the brunette. Not long after, she bit Regina where she'd kissed her just below her jaw line.

Regina moaned and uncontrollably kicked out a foot. The table against the wall across the room broke in half and startled Emma.

She whipped her head around to see the damaged table, but Regina couldn't help herself. She cupped her left hand around the right side of Emma's and used her thumb to turn Emma's attention back to her. She pulled Emma close and kissed her. Not on the neck, not on the chest, but on the lips. Their teeth gnashed together as the action surprised the blonde, but Regina immediately darted her tongue out to meet Emma's in a searing, passionate kiss. Their first kiss.

Regina trapped Emma's upper lip between her lips and sucked. She swept her tongue past Emma's lips once again when the kiss broke and danced with the Sheriff's in a playful, exploratory war for dominance.

There mouths melted together like hot wax for several minutes as their hands roamed over each others' bodies. Regina set a second pace for them, more fast than slow but not frantic, and slipped her hand between Emma's underwear and the blonde's bare skin.

Regina's hand disappeared behind denim and thin black fabric as she teasingly ran her fingers up and down Emma's folds.

Emma moaned and slammed her left hand against the hardwood floor beside Regina's right shoulder. She kept up with Regina's pace and sighed contentedly when Regina thrust two fingers inside her.

Emma dropped her head as she rode Regina's fingers, her hand on the floor as leverage to help her keep pace, and panted against Regina's collarbone. Her face hovered over Regina's chin and sternum, her eyes closed, as she reveled in the feeling of Regina's fingers slide in and out of her.

Regina stared at Emma. The more she focused on the blonde as she struggled to keep her eyes open, her head tilted down toward Regina's chest, the purple in her eyes faded. When her eyes returned to their normal, enchanting brown color, Regina grinned and briefly removed her fingers to switch hands.

She teased Emma's clit with her left hand as she tried to keep the Sheriff slick and raised her right hand to Emma's left bicep. She harshly dug her nails into Emma's skin and raked them down her arm from her shoulder to her elbow.

“Ah,” Emma elongated her yelp as the pain in her left arm overpowered her ability to balance on it.

She collapsed on top of Regina with a small grunt as the Mayor continued to work her fingers in and out of Emma.

Emma's head rested against Regina's chest and she placed her right hand against the hardwood floor beside Regina's torso. She fought to move with Regina, though she stayed flush against the brunette.

Regina positioned her left knee up between Emma's legs while she pulled her right leg back to bring her knee in the direction of her chest, Emma's left leg between her own legs. Regina skillfully continued her pace as she thrust in and out of Emma while she squirmed to maneuver the back of her right thigh against the front of Emma's left thigh. She pinched the back of her knee around Emma's left hip and the small of her back and pushed the Sheriff backward, onto her left knee between Emma's thighs.

Emma, with Regina's help, sat up. She slid down Regina's exposed left thigh and slid onto Regina's fingers.

Regina gripped Emma's left thigh with her right hand and pulled herself into a sitting position as she stilled her fingers inside Emma.

Emma leaned forward and held her hair out of her face as her lips met Regina's in a sweet kiss. When she broke the kiss after a long moment, she sat back and rested her lower back on Regina's knee.

“I'm not done with you yet,” Regina purred.

Emma grinned.

Regina smirked and shook her head. She used all her lower body strength to throw Emma back down on the ground to the right, closer to the long abandoned couch. On the way down, Regina abruptly removed her fingers and pressed down on Emma's ribs with her left hand.

She coiled her fingers around Emma's jeans and balanced on her knees as she brought her left hand to the waistband of the jeans as well. She yanked upward to momentarily pull Emma's backside off the floor then yanked down, toward her own body to remove the denim as well as the unnecessary underwear.

Her actions pulled Emma closer and the jeans had only reached her knees.

“Brace yourself,” Regina warned.

Emma quickly pressed her hands to the hardwood beside her hips and tensed her biceps.

Regina tugged on Emma's jeans once again, but that time made it halfway down her calves as Emma fought against the pull with her hands.

Regina moved back and held one of Emma's thighs in her hand. She used her free hand to pull at the bunched up denim around the Sheriff's ankle. She did the same to the other leg and managed to get the blonde's jeans off within the minute.

Regina flung the useless clothing behind her toward the parlor door and lowered herself between Emma's legs. She hovered over Emma's waist and stared up at Emma as the younger woman propped herself up on her elbows.

Regina's right hand flew to Emma's left outer thigh and ran it up across the side of Emma's backside. She rested the pad of her thumb against Emma's hip and brought her lips down to the start of Emma's sex. She chastely kissed it then swiped her tongue across the skin before she sucked the area between her lips.

Emma lifted her thighs off the floor and arched her body further against Regina's lips. She tipped her head back then curled her toes when Regina bit her where her tongue had once massaged the skin. By then she was dripping wet and ready for Regina to finish her off.

“Regina,” Emma only managed to pleadingly whisper.

Regina grinned as she pulled herself up Emma's body. She slipped three fingers inside the Sheriff and kissed the younger woman's lips. She first kissed Emma sweetly then attacked her mouth with more passion. Her tongue darted out and wrestled with the blonde's as she pumped in and out of Emma at a hungry, quick pace.

Emma relaxed her arms as she slowly fell onto her back.

Regina followed her down as she deepened their kiss. She clawed at Emma's right shoulder with her free hand as she pressed her center against Emma's lower body as much as she could while working her fingers in and out of the woman.

Emma tipped her head back a bit and broke their kiss as she took a sharp breath then moaned. Her lips brushed against Regina's as the brunette kept her mouth close to Emma's and she felt herself tighten around the Mayor's fingers.

“Say my name,” Regina panted against Emma's lips.

Emma shot her hands to Regina's hips as she reached the brink of her release. She dug her nails into the brunette's skin and held Regina flush against her.

“Regina,” Emma moaned as she came.

She shook under the Mayor and Regina smirked.

“Kiss me,” Emma whispered.

Regina looked from Emma's darkened green eyes to her lips. She swooped in and feverishly kissed the woman beneath her.

She felt her power swirling around in the pit of her stomach as she removed her fingers from the younger woman. She reveled in the sensation of Emma taking initiative as the Sheriff slipped her the tongue.

She moaned into their next kiss until Emma thrust two fingers into her. She growled at the intrusion, but welcomed it all the same as the swirling in her stomach started to surface.

She gently bit Emma's upper lip as she started to grind against Emma's fingers. She then took Emma's upper lip between her own lips and sucked on it. She moved to Emma's bottom lip as the blonde sped up her pace and swiped the pad of her thumb over Regina's clit.

She sucked on Emma's bottom lip then bit it harder than she had the top. She wrapped her arms around the top half of Emma's back and rolled onto her back. She pulled Emma on top of her and sunk her nails into Emma's back.

Regina kissed Emma over and over again as she slowly raked her nails down Emma's exposed back. She started at the Sheriff's shoulder blades and traveled all the way down to the small of the her back.

Emma winced into their kiss. She grunted and groaned the harder Regina scratched and scraped her skin, but she pushed herself to keep up her pace.

She broke their kiss and brought her lips to Regina's neck. She kissed the brunette and sucked on her pulse point.

Regina moaned and gripped Emma's hips.

“Bite me there and you'll surely regret it,” she warned.

Emma grinned then ran the tip of her tongue from the base of Regina's neck to her jaw.

“Regina,” Emma purred into the brunette's ear.

She tightened around Emma's fingers and rolled the blonde onto her back again. She pressed a hand to Emma's chest as she started to ride slender fingers. She could feel Emma's heart beat beneath her hot, sweat coated skin. She leaned in and chastely kissed Emma's sternum. She curled her fingers and dug her nails into Emma's chest, above her beating heart. She clamped her teeth down on Emma's collarbone and listened with pleasure to Emma hiss in pain.

Emma laced her fingers in Regina's hair and pulled her away from her collarbone. She brought Regina's mouth to hers and kissed her. Every time their lips touched, Emma felt intoxicated.

Regina shared the feeling.

The tension in the pit of her stomach returned until Emma's hand moved from her hair to her cheek. The younger woman cupped her face as she slightly twisted her fingers inside Regina. The tension left Regina's body as she came to her release. She softly moaned into Emma's chaste kiss and took a moment to relax her body on top of Emma.

Emma pulled out of Regina and placed her hand on the back of the brunette's thigh.

Regina encased the blonde underneath herself with her body and rested her ear on Emma's chest. She listened to Emma's racing heart and her eyes flashed purple again. She felt a dark pull inside of her she hadn't felt in a long time, but when she felt Emma shift beneath her she fought it.

The purple tint left her eyes seconds before she pushed off Emma and straddled the young Sheriff. She stared at the woman and bit her bottom lip.

“Uncomfortable, dear,” Regina asked after a moment.

Emma shook her head.

“Then what seems to be the problem?”

“Nothing,” Emma quietly answered as she looked away from Regina.

Regina grinned though she knew Emma had lied to her.

“Why don't you stay for dinner,” Regina asked as she rolled off the blonde into a sitting position beside her.

Emma looked up at Regina, confused.

“What?”

Regina's grin widened as she flashed the younger woman her teeth.

“Henry's not going to eat any of it and I made plenty. I don't want to get stuck eating leftovers for the rest of the week so...stay.”

“What's the catch,” Emma asked as the somewhat annoyed and frustrated tone in her voice returned.

Emma propped herself up on her elbows, though her arms were weak, as she kept her gaze concentrated on Regina.

Regina chuckled.

“I'm glad you asked.”

Regina said nothing more as she stood and started to collect her clothes. She hooked a finger in the blue underwear she wore and adjusted the material to cover herself. She then picked up her skirt and slipped it on.

Emma watched Regina as she moved around the room before she slowly got up. She made her way toward her pants when the brunette stopped her.

“I don't think so,” she said.

Regina lightly touched the Sheriff's wrist and smirked.

“Here's the catch. You don't get to wear anything.”

“Seriously?”

“When am I not serious, Miss Swan? If you'd like to leave, no one's stopping you.”

“If that's true, then why do I feel like I have no choice?”

Regina softly chuckled.

“Maybe you don't. Care to find out,” Regina spoke in her low, sultry tone as she hungrily looked Emma over from her bare thighs back up to her green eyes.

Emma gulped and shifted from one foot to the next under Regina's scrutiny after the brunette locked eyes with her.

Regina closed the space between them and teasingly ran her index finger up Emma's body from her left hip to her left breast. She watched Emma shiver slightly beneath her touch and briefly bit her bottom lip.

She leaned in and purred her next words into Emma's ear.

“I'll see you in the kitchen,” she said as she pulled her hand away from Emma.

She spun around to face the parlor door and suddenly sauntered out of the room. Cold air hit Emma's body in place of the older woman's presence as Regina disappeared out of sight and didn't look back.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Emma bit her bottom lip as she checked Regina out upon the brunette's exit. She glanced around the room, but stopped when she noticed the broken table. She paused and focused her gaze on it for a short moment then looked back at the open parlor door. She took a deep breath and released it in heavy sigh as she left the complicated comfort of the room.

She cautiously, reluctantly walked into the kitchen and watched Regina pull a dish out of the oven. She shifted from foot to foot a couple times as she tried to find a way to hide her body from the bright overhead lights.

Regina looked up at Emma as she set the dish on a cooling rack on the kitchen island. She smirked and stifled a chuckle as she watched Emma reposition her hands across her body over and over again.

“Trying to hide from me, Miss Swan?”

Emma looked around the room to avoid eye contact as she gulped and tried to keep her breathing even. During all her attempts to not look too awkward and timid in front of the brunette, she forgot to answer the woman.

Regina walked around the island and stepped directly in front of Emma. With little space between them, she reached out and gently gripped Emma's hips. She pulled the blonde to her in a single, swift movement.

Emma's lips parted as her eyes found Regina's and she tensed.

“Now are you scared,” Regina cockily asked.

“No,” she shakily answered, though she spoke the truth.

“Then why are you still so tense,” she purred before she leaned in and nibbled on Emma's neck.

Emma slowly closed her eyes as the soft touch of Regina's lips on her skin. She was used to playing roughly with the woman, but now they were in new, uncharted territory. Regina could do anything to her at that point, bite her, hit her, torture her, or take it slow for once. Not knowing where Regina would go with their arrangement made Emma defensive, protective of herself.

Regina slipped a hand down between them and thrust two fingers inside of Emma.

Emma gasped and fell forward onto Regina. She grabbed the brunette's shoulders and squeezed them to help her balance.

Regina held her fingers still, unmoving, inside Emma like she had once before in the parlor.

“You know,” Emma breathlessly started. “The table's broken.”

“I did notice that.”

“Like...in half.”

“What of it, dear,” Regina huskily asked as she wrapped an arm around Emma's waist and pulled the younger woman flush against her.

“What the hell happened in there?”

Regina throatily chuckled.

“Nothing I can't clean up,” she huskily answered.

She lowered her hands to Emma's backside, gripped the right cheek and spanked the left. She gripped Emma's other cheek after spanking it and slid a knee between the Sheriff's thighs.

Emma gasped and reached out as she fell forward again, further into Regina. She kept her hands on the Mayor's shoulders and bit her bottom lip.

Regina proudly grinned and spun them around to her right. She forced Emma against the island and ran her hand up to the blonde's left breast. She rubbed the pad of her thumb over the younger woman's nipple and lifted Emma's right leg above her own hip. She held Emma's knee near her breast and pressed her skirt against the Sheriff's exposed sex.

“I wonder just how flexible you are, dear,” Regina teased with a smirk.

She raised Emma's leg further and placed her hand on Emma's shoulder instead of her breast. She pushed the blonde onto her back on the island, her left foot still firmly on the ground.

Emma took a deep breath as Regina tested her. Regina rested her calve on her shoulder then leaned in. Emma gritted her teeth and tried not to tense her muscles to prevent herself from straining or pulling anything.

Regina could see the tension and worry on Emma's face.

“Been a while,” Regina asked.

Emma stared up at Regina for a silent moment before she nodded.

Regina chuckled.

“That actually surprises me.”

“And why is that?”

“Well, like I've said before, you're easy. On top of that, I taught Graham most of what he knew. He didn't care to show you a few tricks?”

“We never went that far,” she admitted.

“Really. Why not?”

“I couldn’t.”

“Couldn't? I highly doubt that.”

“Wouldn't,” she corrected.

“Not good enough for you? Or was he too nice to you? Didn't hurt you like I do?”

Emma shook her head.

“I don't want to talk about it.”

“Too bad,” Regina said as leaned in further and bit just below Emma's collarbone.

“Ah,” Emma scrunched up her face and clenched her fists.

With Regina's brief new position, Emma's leg stretched further. She squirmed beneath the brunette and moved her leg to the edge of Regina's shoulder.

Regina pulled away from the blonde's collarbone and stared down at Emma as she raised her hand to catch the Sheriff's leg before it fell off her shoulder.

“Where do you think you're going?”

Emma gulped under Regina's prideful scrutiny. The brunette had her in a compromising position that threatened the durability of her muscles. Regina seemed to have a knack for finding new ways of power over her and, as much as it scared her, it excited her.

Regina placed Emma's calve back onto her shoulder and lowered herself to the beginning of Emma's pelvis. She nibbled on soft skin inches away from Emma's sex and made the Sheriff writhe and moan with pleasure.

Regina slowly kissed her way up Emma's body and kept her right hand on Emma's upper left thigh.

Emma groaned as she felt her leg stretch again and lightly placed a hand on Regina's shoulder in case she needed to push the woman away. She bit her bottom lip and squeezed her eyes shut as Regina approached her neck. She curled her fingers around Regina's shoulder and dug her nails in.

Regina slyly grinned as she watched Emma's reactions and stopped where she was as her mouth hovered over Emma's throat.

Emma could feel Regina's hot breath on her neck and arched her back to lift her aching breasts in the brunette's direction.

Satisfied, Regina swiped her right hand from the top of Emma's left thigh to the back of it. In one quick, fluid movement, Regina lifted Emma's grounded leg and gripped her hand around the edge of the counter above Emma's shoulder. Within seconds, she pushed Emma's leg off the ground and expertly pulled herself onto the counter. She pressed her skirt covered sex against Emma's sex as she got on top of the counter and slid Emma toward her hand on the edge of the counter top. In doing so, Emma's leg wasn't overly strained throughout her repositioning.

Emma appreciated the small consideration and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Regina placed Emma's left leg on the counter, her knee and calve hanging off one end of the island, and let go of the other end with her hand. She slipped Emma's right leg off her shoulder, but moved her hand from the underside of Emma's knee up her inner thigh. She pushed the leg away, but kept a firm grip on it.

“Wrap your other leg around my waist,” she ordered Emma as their eyes made intense contact.

Emma licked her lips then lifted her left leg and did as she was told. She hooked the back of her knee around Regina's waist, but took it one step further and pulled Regina down onto her, her center pressed flush against Regina's skirt.

Regina could feel the wetness and the heat from Emma on her skirt and she parted her lips in a low moan. She slipped her hand off Emma's right thigh and steadied herself against counter top beside the outside of Emma's thigh. She rubbed her center against Emma's until the blonde relaxed her right leg on the counter. She then straddled Emma's right thigh and moved her left hand back to the edge of the counter above Emma's right shoulder.

She inserted two fingers into Emma once again, but started a rapid pace.

“Unh,” Emma bucked her hips to press into Regina's touch.

She tipped her head back as blonde curls cascaded around her face and shoulders. Her neck no longer touched the counter top as she closed her eyes and her walls tightened around Regina's fingers.

Regina pumped in and out quick enough to make Emma's head spin. She leaned in and bit Emma's bottom lip enough to leave bruising teeth marks.

Emma emitted a mix between a moan and a groan at the pain and pleasure she felt as she squeezed her eyes shut tighter.

She shot a hand into Regina's hair and tried to push the brunette further down her body.

Regina took the hint and released Emma's lip. She slid down to Emma's neck and bit her pulse point.

Emma gasped as she dug her heel into Regina's lower back. It forced the Mayor flat against her hand buried inside Emma.

Regina pushed back against Emma's heel when she pulled her fingers almost completely out of the Sheriff then moved her sex toward Emma's on her inward thrusts. She kept a good rhythm and moved with her hand as it caused friction between her skirt and Emma's inner thighs.

“ _F-f-fuck_ ,” Emma loudly moaned then trailed off to a whisper.

Regina panted with each inward thrust and watched Emma's face as the blonde could no longer keep herself bound to reality, her eyes closed tight and her breathing erratic.

Regina suddenly became wet herself and didn't dare stop.

Emma moaned in short bursts as her walls continued to tighten around Regina's fingers. Her moans sounded in a crescendo as she felt the build up before her release.

Regina knew Emma wasn't aware of her surroundings anymore and had to sacrifice watching Emma's face as she came to kiss the Sheriff silent.

Emma's moans were muffled into the kiss as she came violently. She tore her lips away from Regina's as she turned to her right to breathe. She panted as Regina kept her fingers inside her for a few more seconds then removed them as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

Regina straddled Emma as she raised her coated fingers to her mouth. She slowly sucked one clean then offered the other to Emma even as the blonde remained lost in ecstasy.

Emma's eyes fluttered open and she barely took notice of Regina's finger in her face.

“I'd have the rest, but I don't want to ruin my dinner,” Regina joked with a smirk.

She bent over, still straddling Emma, and slowly ran her finger along the younger woman's bottom lip as Emma tried to control her breathing.

Emma hazily closed her eyes again and let Regina continue, but didn't have it in her to take the bait yet.

As she ran her finger along Emma's lip, Regina left a trail that she simply couldn't let stay there too long. She leaned in slid the tip of her tongue across Emma's bottom lip to collect the remnants of the blonde.

“Guess you're leaving me no choice,” Regina said after she finished licking Emma's lip clean.

She sat up again and cleaned off the rest of her finger as she stared down at Emma.

Emma took a few seconds before she opened her eyes again and looked up at Regina who still had half a finger in her mouth.

“Damn,” she breathlessly said.

Regina chuckled as she removed her finger from her mouth.

“You got lucky, Miss Swan. I really did want dinner before I did anything else.”

Regina slid off the counter and felt her drenched underwear when her feet landed on the hardwood floor. She frowned, but walked around the island to grab the cooling dish she and Emma surprisingly hadn't knocked over.

“Have a seat,” Regina flatly commanded as she grabbed a spatula and stuck it between the food and the inside of the dish to see if it had rested long enough.

Emma puffed out a sigh as Regina's words brought her back to reality and remained on her back on the island for only a moment longer before she sat up.

She took a minute to allow the dizziness from sitting up too quickly to subside then turned to her left to watch Regina. She coiled her fingers around the edge of the island and placed the heels of her hands flat against the counter top.

“At least now you've worked up my appetite,” Emma commented.

“Yes, but the question is which appetite,” Regina grinned as she used the spatula to cut rectangular pieces.

Emma looked from the food to Regina and held her unrequited gaze for a brief second before Regina made eye contact.

Emma wanted to say something, to ask plenty of questions like where they stood, but she knew she would most likely receive whiplash from the brunette for even thinking they could be anything close to friendly with each other.

Her words died on her lips as she kept her thoughts to herself and just spent that time staring at Regina.

“If you're not going to sit down any time soon, why don't you make yourself useful and get us some plates,” Regina said as she redirected her attention from Emma back down to the food to finish cutting pieces.

Emma looked forward and slid off the island. She walked behind the Mayor only to realize she didn't know where anything was in the house.

“Um,” she started, but Regina quickly caught on.

“Cupboard to the left of the sink. Bottom shelf. You should see them when you turn around,” she told Emma before the blonde had time to stand by her side.

Emma spun back around and continued in the direction she had already started to take. She easily found the plates where Regina said they would be as they rested openly in their own barred off spaces. She grabbed two and headed back to Regina. She stopped to Regina's right and set the plates side by side on the island.

Regina lifted one of the pieces she'd cut and placed it on a plate before she spoke.

“Silverware is in the drawer below the counter under the plates.”

Emma turned around again and opened the drawer Regina identified. She grabbed two sets of forks and knives and rejoined the brunette at the island once again.

Regina slipped a second piece off the spatula onto the other plate and set the spatula in the dish with the rest of the pieces. She turned and grabbed a roll of cling wrap from the first drawer to the right of the sink. She pulled out a long section and cut it at the appropriate length then covered the dish, spatula included as the handle stuck out of the tightly sealed wrap.

“Now grab a plate and sit down already,” Regina said as she picked up the plate closest to her and made her way to the dining room table.

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Bossy,” she mumbled under her breath as she took the remaining plate and followed the older woman.

“You're damn right,” Regina grinned as she took her usual place at the table.

Emma hesitated before she took her next step as she parted her lips in slight shock that Regina had heard her. She didn't slow down too much and sat in a chair across the table from Regina.

“You don't want to sit next to me,” she asked with feigned hurt then flashed a pleased grin.

Emma sighed then stood only seconds after sitting down and walked back toward the Mayor.

“Why don't you tell me where to sit,” Emma said as she stood naked in front of Regina holding her plate at waist level.

Regina reached over and patted the seat to her right.

Emma walked behind Regina's chair to take a seat. Before she could sit down though, Regina smacked her backside as she passed. Emma tensed and immediately stopped in her tracks.

“Someone's frisky tonight,” she said as she slowly set her plate on the table in front of the seat she had yet to get comfortable in.

“We both know that's not a problem for you,” Regina huskily said as she intensely stared into Emma's green eyes.

They stared at each other for a long moment, Regina confident and Emma a little thrown by the Mayor's behavior.

“Sit,” Regina urged with a small grin.

Emma waited a second before she complied and situated herself in the chair.

Regina started to cut her meal into bite size pieces and didn't hesitate to eat.

“I would've made dinner rolls as well, but the meal itself took a while as it was,” Regina explained.

Emma looked at her quizzically before she even took her first bite.

Regina looked up and met Emma's questioning gaze.

“I don't think you mind, though. You probably make yourself a bowl of cereal and call it a night.”

Emma looked down at her food and cut a small piece then tried it as she kept quiet.

Regina's lips parted even as she proudly smirked at Emma's response.

“Well, I guess I know more about you than you think.”

“I bet the only reason you know that about me is because Henry would be perfectly happy with having cereal for dinner. I'm sure he's suggested it or tried to get away with it a few times by now,” Emma shot back as she kept her eyes on her plate.

It was Regina's turn to stay silent.

Emma grinned at the sound, but never looked up.

They ate in silence for a few more minutes until Regina felt the tension between her legs. She set her knife and fork down on the plate and patted her napkin against her mouth to make sure she was cleaned up, though it was unnecessary.

She pushed her chair away from the table, which got Emma's attention, and stood. She stayed at the table, but unzipped her skirt. She pushed it down her legs and let it fall to the floor. She stepped out of it without saying a single word and kicked it away before she did the same to her panties.

She sat back down, but didn't move her chair back toward the table.

“Come here,” she said to Emma as she stared straight into her eyes.

“Where,” Emma asked after a moment she used to take in the nearby space.

“Here,” Regina said as she ran her hands up and down her thighs.

Emma looked from Regina's thighs back up to the brunette's darkened brown eyes. She stood up and left her food as she sat in Regina's lap.

The instant their skin touched, Emma felt Regina's body temperature skyrocket beneath her.

Regina unbuttoned her blouse and tossed it aside. She unhooked her bra and carelessly flung it across the room.

“Lean back,” she commanded Emma as she rested against the chair.

Emma obliged and felt Regina's bare breasts against her back. She didn't have time to think before Regina's hand slithered around her waist and made its way down to her center.

Regina cupped Emma's sex and blissfully listened to the blonde's breath hitch. She rested her head on the back of the chair and teasingly ran her fingers between Emma's folds.

Emma spread her legs and moaned as she arched into Regina's touch. She lifted a leg and placed a foot on the edge of the table to keep her from slipping off Regina's lap.

Everything she did made Regina wet in her already sensitive state. Every little movement spurred her on more and Emma could tell she needed to let go.

Regina pinched one of Emma's lips near her opening then swiped her thumb across her opening. She dipped her fingertip inside, but removed it quickly before she forced three fingers into Emma without warning or lubrication.

Emma gasped and bit her bottom lip to keep from screaming. She threw her head back and rested it against Regina's left shoulder then propped her right foot onto the corner of the chair.

Regina used her free hand to move Emma's blonde tresses out of her face only seconds before she felt Emma's hand reach between her legs and thrust three fingers into her. She gripped the hair she still had in her hand and yanked Emma's head harder against her shoulder as she tugged on her tresses.

It quickly turned into a game of Twister when Regina pushed her left thigh between Emma's legs to keep the Sheriff on top of her then draped her right leg over the small arm of the chair.

Emma pulled her leg off Regina's on the arm of the chair as the brunette had managed to drag it along with her own and repositioned her foot back on the corner of the chair. She pushed herself up Regina's body to sit on the Mayor's lower stomach and started a rushed pace moving in and out of Regina.

Regina let go of Emma's hair and leaned forward as she reached out for her knife as she matched Emma's pace with her own fingers.

Emma started to pant as she felt Regina struggle to reach in front of them.

“What do you want,” Emma breathlessly asked.

“Knife,” Regina blurted as if she had waited for Emma to ask her that question all night.

Emma shot out her free hand and clumsily grabbed the knife before she handed it back to Regina.

Regina took it from her and immediately licked it clean, careful not to cut her tongue in the process in her heart racing situation. She inspected it to make sure it shined as best it could without a proper washing and lightly dragged it up Emma's leg from her knee to her upper thigh.

The teasing touch of the knife tickled Emma, but not in a way that made it her laugh. She hummed and curled her fingers against Regina's walls in approval.

Regina bit her bottom lip and lifted the knife to get a better hold on it. With a stronger, more controlled grip she pressed the sharp edges down on Emma's thigh.

Emma cried out during the first mark Regina made then hissed during the second. On the third mark, she silently exhaled as she arched her back and squeezed her eyes shut. When Regina dropped the knife on the floor, she opened her eyes and looked down to see what the brunette had done.

Regina had carved a large, capital “R” into her facing anyone who stood to Emma's left.

At the sight of her own blood running down her outer left thigh, Emma twisted her wrist so her fingers entered Regina sideways and upward at a thirty degree angle.

Regina grunted and groaned at the hurried and rough intrusions, but bucked her hips for a harder touch.

Emma turned slightly in Regina's lap enough to bite the brunette's neck while still allowing Regina access to her center. She sunk her teeth into Regina's skin just below her jaw and kept them there for several long seconds.

Regina gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut then brought her free hand to Emma's left breast. She brushed the tip of her index finger across Emma's nipple until it was hard then took it between her index finger and thumb. She pinched it and made Emma wildly buck her hips and arch her back.

Emma let go of Regina's neck and rolled her head onto the brunette's shoulder. She looked up at the ceiling and pushed off her right foot on the corner of the chair to lift herself off Regina's fingers. She moved with Regina and relaxed the muscles in her leg to bring herself back down onto those same fingers.

Regina let go of Emma's nipple and dropped her hand to Emma's left hip as she followed it up and down while Emma rode her fingers. She used her foot on the floor as leverage to pull herself further against Emma's fingers then pushed away from them when Emma would nearly remove them.

The two of them kept up their rapid pace as they moved together.

“Make you...a deal,” Emma panted.

“...Listening...”

“First one to come...cleans the others'...place...in outfits...for a...a week,” Emma managed to say though she felt herself close to coming undone.

“Outfits? ...Winner chooses?”

“Mhmm,” Emma nodded as she kept her head on Regina's shoulder, her eyes closed.

Regina panted before she answered.

“Deal.”

Emma grinned, but it didn't last long. Regina twisted her fingers into Emma like a screwdriver and she almost let go.

“As long as...you still come to me...when I text you.”

Regina harshly bit Emma's shoulder.

Emma squeaked as she tried not to yell.

“Understood,” Regina asked after she rested her head against the back of the chair.

“Yes,” Emma panted as her walls tightened around Regina.

She felt herself losing and so did Regina.

Regina leaned in again and grinned as she kissed Emma's neck.

Emma reveled in the kiss and started to let go until she remembered what happened in the parlor, something that turned the tables rather quickly in her favor.

“Regina,” she genuinely moaned as she relaxed into the Mayor.

She knew that wouldn't do it, though it came close, so she placed her free hand over Regina's hand on her hip. She dipped it between her folds and got Regina's index and middle finger wet. She pulled the brunette's hand to her mouth and slowly licked them clean. She flicked the tip of her tongue up the length of Regina's fingers then pressed the flat of her tongue between them. She then slid both of them into her mouth and sucked them clean like Regina had done to her own fingers earlier.

Regina's walls tightened around Emma's fingers as the blonde tasted herself. She pressed her breasts against Emma's back and tipped her head back over the top of the chair.

“Fuck me, Regina,” Emma breathlessly begged as she ran Regina's fingers down her front with her guiding hand.

Her words sent Regina over the edge as she curled her fingers against Regina's walls for good measure.

Regina let go and gently shook beneath Emma as she came. She unintentionally slowed her pace, but darted her thumb out to tease Emma's clit in retaliation. She rubbed circles against it as she applied pressure only to decrease it less than a second later.

“Ask and you shall receive,” Regina growled as she leaned herself harshly against Emma's back and pushed the chair out from under her.

The movement caused Emma's foot to drop from the edge of the table and Regina used Emma's unbalanced state to knock the blonde forward onto all fours.

Emma was forced to abruptly remove her fingers from Regina as she defensively threw her hands in front of her to break her fall.

Regina wrapped her left hand around Emma's waist and pulled Emma into a kneeling position. She thrust the same three fingers back into Emma and immediately picked up her rapid pace as she attacked Emma's throbbing, dripping sex from behind.

“Come for me,” Regina purred in Emma's ear as she swiped the pad of her thumb over Emma's clit while her hot breath hit the shell of her ear.

Emma shot a hand behind her and wrapped it around the back of Regina's neck to steady herself.

Regina used her left knee to kick apart Emma's legs and bring the Sheriff's sex dangerously close to the floor.

Emma whimpered as she felt herself get closer to her release.

Not pleased with the wait, Regina let go of Emma's waist and used her left hand to push her onto her stomach under the table.

Emma landed with a grunt as the impact pinched her breasts between her weight and the floor. She bit her lip as Regina continued to pump in and out of her.

Regina lowered her mouth to Emma's backside and bit down on Emma's left cheek.

Emma bucked her hips backward to press her backside further into Regina's hold. She was so close.

Regina let go of her backside and slithered up Emma's back. She made a trail of wet kisses up Emma's spine until she reached the Sheriff's neck. She pulled blonde tresses out of her way and quickened her pace.

Emma's breath hitched and she clawed at the hardwood floor beneath her as she looked at the front door in the distance.

“You're mine, Miss Swan,” she growled then gave Emma a noticeable hickey.

Emma shook as she came.

Regina slowed her pace then removed her fingers, still bent over Emma.

“Good girl,” she grinned as she purred in Emma's ear.

Emma struggled to control her breathing as Regina's domineering presence sent shivers down her spine.

Regina lifted herself off Emma enough to flip her over. She mounted Emma's lower stomach and leaned in with a wicked grin. She stared at Emma for a second as she hovered over the younger woman to make sure Emma wasn't resisting.

When Emma stayed perfectly still, waiting for Regina's next move with her eyes of normal size, Regina pushed forward and kissed Emma. She slipped her tongue between Emma's parted lips and wrestled with Emma's for several seconds. She brought her left hand to Emma's neck and pressed her fingertips to the hot skin.

She broke the kiss and pulled away.

“You still lost. You have to clean my apartment...for an entire week,” Emma proudly smiled up at Regina. “In whatever the hell I want you to wear.”

“Small victory, Miss Swan.”

“Big victory, Madame Mayor,” she grinned.

Regina shook her head.

“Think what you like, but the next time you think I don't own you all you have to do...is look in the mirror,” Regina grinned as she patted Emma's marked thigh a couple times.

Emma gritted her teeth as she felt the sensitive skin protest Regina's touch.

Regina backed her way out from under the table and pulled Emma by the ankle to make sure the blonde followed after her.

Emma came to an abrupt stop when Regina let her go after her outer thigh brushed against Regina's thigh. She propped herself up on her elbows and stared at Regina.

“Has anyone ever told you you're a sore loser,” Emma said.

“I don't lose.”

“Until you met me,” she grinned.

Regina squinted at Emma for a second then stood.

“Good night, Miss Swan. I trust you know your way to the door.”

“Hmm, refresh my memory?”

Regina devilishly chuckled and extended her hand to Emma.

Emma took her hand and let the brunette pull her onto her feet.

“Might want to get your clothes first, dear,” Regina gave a crocodile grin as she looked over the younger woman.

Emma went to the parlor, Regina close behind as she used her position to check out Emma's firm ass, and wandered around the room to collect all her clothes.

Regina watched from the doorway as Emma slid into her underwear and pulled on her tank top, forgoing her bra, and tugged on her jeans.

She shook her hair out of her face as she looked up at Regina.

“Like what you see,” she asked as she stood up straight, bra in hand.

“If I didn't, you wouldn't be here right now,” Regina admitted.

Emma pursed her lips as she smiled and walked toward the door.

Regina turned to allow Emma out and followed her to the front door without any clothes of her own.

Emma opened the door and stepped into the doorway. She turned around to face Regina and caused the brunette to stop short of where she intended to go.

“I will definitely see you later, Madame _Maid_ ,” Emma grinned then wrapped an arm around Regina's waist and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

Regina stood still and let Emma kiss her, but didn't kiss back. Not at first. When Emma's tongue played with hers, she fought back in an attempt to gain dominance. She brought a hand to Emma's neck and trapped blonde tresses between her hand and the Sheriff's neck.

Emma pulled away and smiled at Regina before she checked her out, completely naked in front of her.

“I wouldn't get used to this view if I were you,” Regina warned. “You won't see it often.”

“Oh, I'm sure that won't be true after a few more late night visits,” Emma cockily grinned then turned and headed down the walkway to her car.

Regina watched her get into the hideous yellow Volkswagen and take off before she closed the door with an itching thought on her mind.

She started to head back to the kitchen to put away the dinner, but when she passed the parlor, she turned and went inside. She looked over the ruined table and furrowed her brow.

_What the hell was that?_

 


	11. Chapter 11

Emma slowly woke up to the morning sun brightly illuminating her once peaceful bedroom. She squinted her eyes as she sat up and groaned. All the muscles in her body ached. Her memory was hazy as she tried to remember what caused her pain when flashes of the previous night rudely reminded her.

The Mayor had played rough on more than one occasion within a matter of hours. She'd made Emma come undone twice within one hour alone. She hadn't even finished her dinner before Regina had her in her lap moving with the regal woman in a competition to see who could hold out the longest.

She threw her legs over the side of the bed and grunted as her body told her to give up and lay back down. She ran a hand through her hair and looked at her alarm clock as she fought against her body's screams.

_10:32am._

“Shit!”

She shot up and stood too fast for her sore body. She nearly collapsed as she wobbled to keep herself upright. She reached out and rested her weight on her hand as she placed her palm against her nightstand.

Her head pounded loudly like she'd woke up with a hang over and her left thigh wasn't too forgiving of the hell it had been put through at the mansion. The “R” Regina had carved into her skin no longer bled out at that time, but the blood had clotted enough to leave a large, red mark across the expanse of her milky skin.

She sighed as she looked down at the mark. If she was lucky, the butter knife wouldn't leave a scar that would permanently deem her Regina's property.

She took a deep breath and pushed herself off the nightstand. She walked over to her closet and grabbed the first outfit she could put together in a matter of seconds, though she didn't own much other than her usual white tank top and tight, dark jeans.

She pulled out a faded dark blue V-neck tee and a pair of jeans. She tugged on the jeans with grunts and groans that could be heard throughout the empty apartment. She pulled on her shirt and fanned out her hair to give it more volume in an attempt to rid her blonde tresses of the bedhead look.

She grabbed her boots by the bedroom door and yanked them on after she slipped into mismatched socks then scrambled downstairs. She hurried out the front door and left behind her jacket as she locked up. She didn't have time to think let alone go through a mental checklist of the things she'd need for the day.

Thankfully, the air was crisp but not too bitter. She'd been through worse weather without a jacket before and didn't have time to go back for anything. She hadn't even bothered to apply any make up she knew she'd need to cover up her tired eyes.

She ran down her car, jumped in, and headed straight to Granny's for breakfast like she did every day. That day, however, she didn't just want breakfast, she needed it. If she didn't get caffeine or any nutritional value in her system soon, she wouldn't make it through the day.

She burst into the diner, desperation written clear across her face as she took her usual seat at the end of the bar.

Ruby flashed her a smile when she turned from her place in front of the two coffee pots then turned around to check the clock on the back wall.

“What happened to you this morning,” Ruby asked as she came over to Emma with a coffee pot in one hand, a mug in the other.

“I overslept,” Emma answered as she watched the long haired brunette pour hot liquid in her cup.

“Obviously,” Ruby chuckled as filled the mug almost completely to the top then pulled it away from the mug.

She pulled a bottle of creamer out from under the counter, good creamer, and set it in front of Emma.

“Rough night,” she asked.

Emma looked up at her with worried, fearful eyes as wide as saucers. She thought about the likelihood that Ruby knew anything about what she'd been doing after hours with the Mayor. It would be impossible for anyone to know. They hated each other. The last thing anyone would expect them to do was sleep with each other, although they didn't do any sleeping when they were together.

“Um...late. It was a _late_ night,” Emma slowly corrected, though she'd been in bed by ten, which was normal for her if not a little early. 

Ruby cleared her throat and flashed her eyes down at the counter top before she continued.

“Then...how do you explain that ridiculously sized hickey,” Ruby grinned and stared into Emma's eyes as she asked.

Emma's jaw dropped and shot her hand to her neck. She ran her fingertips over it to feel more of Regina's damage and had no defense.

“Now who could've possibly done that to you since the only guy in town worth jumping on, now that Graham's gone, is that coma patient David. And he's off the market considering Mary Margaret's feelings for him.”

Emma looked down at her cup of coffee and after a moment, she started to slide it in her direction.

Ruby almost gasped and placed her hand over the top of the mug to stop Emma from getting her caffeine fix.

“It's not him, is it?!”

Emma looked up and shook her head.

“No, of course it's not him. I may have done a lot stupid shit in my life, but betraying a friend like that has never been one of 'em and I intend to keep it that way.”

“Oh,” Ruby sighed with relief. “Good. ...So then, who's the new guy?”

“It's not a big deal.”

“That thing is the size of Texas! I'd say it's a pretty big deal.”

Emma uncomfortably shifted in the stool and pulled her hair over her shoulder to hide her neck from view. She looked down to avoid eye contact when the bell on the diner door jingled.

Pawnshop owner Mr. Gold limped through the door with his cane, a gold handle at the top where he distributed most of his weight on his right hand.

Ruby looked past Emma and went silent at the sight of the scruffy, aged man. Her expression turned rigid and slightly frightened if not intimidated.

Emma turned around to see what caused Ruby to immediately stiffen and gave the shady looking man a once over. She put up with Regina's mental, not to mention physical, abuse on a daily basis. The mystery man she stared at didn't elicit fear from her. As far as she was concerned, Regina was as bad as it got and she could handle her so the man before her posed no threat.

“Good morning, Mr. Gold,” Ruby nervously greeted.

“'Morning, Miss Lucas,” he gave her a slimy smile and replied out of respect then looked at Emma. “Ah, a new face to this town. Sorry, dearie, I haven't gotten out much lately otherwise I would've made your acquaintance sooner. You must be Sheriff Swan,” he crookedly grinned and flashed his gold tooth.

“Um, yeah,” Emma gave him a questioning second look, one she hadn't planned to give him, that was, until his presence had involved her. “That's me.”

“Good. Then you can help me. You see, I own the pawnshop at the end of the street and this morning I noticed there was something missing.”

“Do you think it was stolen?”

“I don't want to point any fingers, but yes, I suspect as much. I was hoping you could come to the shop and go through my inventory with me before I require any further help from you.”

“You want _me_ to go through your inventory. You do know what the job title S _heriff_ means, right?”

“Emma,” Ruby quietly warned from behind the counter.

Gold smirked.

“I realize there are other things you could be doing this morning like perhaps repaying the person that did that to your neck for a time well spent, but I'd appreciate it if I had another pair of eyes to double check my work. That isn't a problem now, is it, dearie?”

Emma parted her lips and flashed a small grin of approval. He'd known her for less than a minute and already managed to insult her when she'd gotten smart with him.

After a moment, she gave a single nod.

“Okay. I'll stop by after breakfast.”

“Why wait? You can eat it at the shop.”

Emma frowned.

“I possess a great deal of things and I don't think either one of us wants this to take all day.”

Emma sighed then turned back to Ruby.

“Can I get my usual breakfast. To go, please,” she asked with a sad and discouraged look on her face.

Gold stood behind the cash register as he flipped through his leather bound record book of everything he'd ever acquired while Emma looked through the shelves against the far wall.

“You know, Sheriff, I might not get out much, but I still hear things. Storybrooke is a small town and not much happens here so when something does happen, it's the talk of the town.”

“Yeah? And what have you heard?”

“Enough to spark my interest. You and the Mayor seem to have it out for each other. I suppose mostly fighting over Henry since you're his birth mother. Am I correct?”

“Yeah, I'm his birth mother. You here that around town too?”

“How else would I know,” he asked then paused before he continued. “Lately, though, things have been quiet with Regina.”

“She's been anything but quiet,” Emma mumbled as she made her way down the shelf.

“Is that so,” he stated rather than asked as a glimmer of curiosity appeared in his dark eyes.

Emma closed her mouth and tensed a bit before she stopped looking through the shelf and turned the upper half of her body toward the register.

“You probably haven't heard anything because she and I don't run into each other in public anymore.”

“Then where do you run into each other, dearie?”

Emma didn't have a lie prepared. Any answer she gave him would be the truth, or some version of it, and she couldn't tell him the truth. Not without him getting more suspicious than his tone already suggested.

“Just...around,” Emma awkwardly answered as she turned back to the shelves. “What is it you think is missing?”

Gold grinned as he took a moment to revel in the fact that he'd rattled her cage. His grin soon faded and he answered her.

“A contract.”

“A contract,” she disbelievingly asked.

“Yes. Someone made a deal with me some time ago and it's about time I collect what they owe me.”

“And what is it they owe you?”

“That's my business.”

Emma furrowed her brow as she looked him over. She recognized all the signs that he wouldn't say anything more and moved on to the next shelf.

After hours of searching the front of the shop, Emma came up empty handed.

“Okay, I think it's time we check the back,” she said as she walked further from the shop entrance.

“That's quite all right, Miss Swan,” Gold forced a smile as he stepped in front of her before she could reach the archway between the two rooms. “I'll continue to look for the contract, but it's almost two now. You should probably check in at the station. Wouldn't want to keep the rest of the town waiting much longer.”

She curiously and suspiciously eyed him before she thought about it. She could tell he was hiding something, but she didn't want to be there in the first place and she hadn't even opened the station.

“You're right. Good look with the search,” she said before she turned to leave.

“Oh, Miss Swan, I almost forgot,” Gold said as he reached into the cardboard box on the far end of the counter. “I found these earlier today before I went to the diner. I thought you might like these. For your boy.”

He offered her a pair of walkie talkies and she looked them over.

“Uh...thanks,” she warily accepted them.

She placed both talkies in her left hand when she reached the front door and pulled it open with her right as she exited the shop.

Emma skipped her lunch break and slaved over the paperwork Henry had helped her with the day before until it was time to pick him up from school. She'd only worked for an hour and forty minutes that day if she didn't count the time spent at Gold's shop, which she didn't because it turned out to be a sufficient waste of time. Though she did admit the walkie talkies were nice.

She was a little disappointed in herself if she was being honest, but the thought of seeing Henry made her feel less guilty by the minute as she drove to the school.

She followed his instructions, but still decided to park in the fire lane against his warning not to and got out of the car. She headed over to the nearby bench and smiled when he turned and saw her.

He beamed and shot off the bench then ran straight at her. He collided with her and wrapped his hands around her waist as he clung to her in a tight hug.

“Hey,” she chuckled as she hugged him back, his head only reaching up to her chest. “How was school?”

“Boring,” he said as he pulled out of the hug but remained close to her on the sidewalk. “How was work?”

“Unproductive,” she replied as she turned and started to walk back to the yellow bug.

Henry followed her and stayed at her side as they walked.

“Really? How come?”

“Well, I woke up late this morning.”

“Did you forget to set your alarm? Sometimes I do that and my mom has to come in and shake me until I get up. I don't usually cooperate the first time either.”

Emma laughed.

“I can't remember if I set my alarm or not, but even if I did I doubt I would've heard it. If I'm exhausted, when I'm asleep I'm out until my body recuperates.”

“Recuperates?”

“Gets enough rest so I can function again.”

Henry gave a nod of understanding as he reached the passenger door. He opened it as Emma walked around to the other side.

“Have you eaten anything today,” Emma asked as she made it to her door.

“Yeah. Spaghetti and meatballs for lunch today. Not very good. There was barely any sauce and it was watery. And I think the school buys cheap noodles because the whole plate tasted like it came out of a ready-made box.”

Emma smiled and shook her head as she got into the car while Henry got comfortable in his seat and shut the door.

“So now you're a food critic,” she asked as she shut her door.

“I may have a big appetite, but I won't eat just anything. I'm picky like that.”

“Guess you got the appetite from me and being picky from your mom.”

“Gotta be.”

Emma started the car and drove through the turnaround before she got back onto the main street.

“Well, you might have eaten, but I haven't had anything since breakfast. Mind if we stop by Granny's before I take you out?”

“No problem! As long as you buy me a chocolate milkshake.”

“Okay, but if your mom finds out you're addicted to those things, she'll kill me.”

Henry smiled.

“Don't worry. It's a secret addiction. She'll never know.”

She squinted at him as she looked him over with a small grin.

“Sometimes I worry you're too sneaky for your own good.”

“Eh, it's not like I'd lie to you, though.”

“As glad as I am to hear that, you probably shouldn't lie to your mom either.”

“But...if I don't lie to her she'll kill you, remember,” he asked as he smirked up at her.

She chuckled and reached over to playfully mess up his hair as she kept her eyes on the road, her left hand on the steering wheel.

Within minutes, Emma opened the diner door for Henry and let him scamper inside.

He went straight to the counter and sat in Emma's usual stool with the most accessibility to the exit. He drummed his hands on the counter as he looked around the place and waited for Ruby to finish with another customer.

“Hey, Henry,” Ruby smiled as she walked over to him while Emma took the seat to his right. “Can I get you something?”

“A chocolate milkshake please.”

“To go,” Emma completed his order.

Ruby looked from Henry to Emma and smiled at her.

“You got it,” she said with a salute then spun on her heels and went into the back.

Henry looked up at Emma and quizzically inspected her neck.

“What's that,” he asked as he pointed to her hickey.

Emma looked down to see the direction of where he pointed and quickly covered the mark with her hair.

“It's nothing, kid.”

“It doesn't look like nothing. What happened?”

“I, uh...pinched myself...with the zipper on my jacket yesterday.”

“When,” he disbelievingly asked.

“Um, when you fell asleep in my car. I had to carry you to your room and the zipper cut me a few times trying to make sure I didn't hit your head on any of the walls.”

“Oh...sorry.”

Emma smiled after a short moment, happy he bought it and amused that he felt he needed to apologize.

“Not a problem,” she said as she patted him on the back.

Ruby came out of the kitchen with a medium sized Styrofoam cup and plastic lid then made Henry his shake.

Emma removed her hand from Henry's back as Ruby walked over with his shake. She pushed the lid on at the last minute before she handed him the shake then pulled a straw out of her apron and offered it to him.

“Thanks,” he smiled as he took the straw and ripped it open before he stuck it into the lid.

“Here for a late lunch,” Ruby asked after she turned to Emma.

“Yeah. I didn't leave Mr. Gold's until about two this afternoon. I sacrificed my lunch hour to make sure I at least got _something_ done before getting Henry.”

“You went to Mr. Gold's,” Henry asked after he swallowed his first sip.

“Yeah. He needed help looking for something he thinks might have been stolen from him,” she informed him.

“In that case,” Ruby started. “What'll it be?”

Emma smiled.

“Make it a BLT today, extra bacon.”

“How much extra bacon?”

“Let's just say I wouldn't be torn up if you had to take off most of the lettuce to make room for the bacon.”

“You got it,” she chuckled then turned and went into the kitchen a second time.

After an hour at the diner, Emma drove Henry to the park for their first after school adventure. She didn't think the park was anything special since it was mostly grass and trees, but she figured the kid had enough imagination to have fun there.

Once she parked in the designated area by the surrounding water, Henry beamed up at her from the passenger's seat.

“That's my castle,” he exclaimed and pointed at the structure just off the pathway.

Emma squinted as she looked out the windshield to see what he was talking about and when she gave it a once over, she smiled then turned to him.

“Guess I had the right idea bringing you here. What do you do in your castle?”

“Read, think. It's where I go to get away from her.”

“Your mom, you mean.”

He nodded.

“I hope you like company then.”

He lightly laughed.

“I'm happy you'll be here with me. I'm happy I can share this place with someone.”

“So...the point isn't to have a moment to yourself?”

“It is, but...it's just a secret from her. As long as she doesn't know about it or doesn't come looking for me here, I'll be okay. Otherwise, it gets kind of lonely, especially when I'm here a lot.”

Emma frowned as Henry opened the door and moved past his own admission.

He smiled as he got out of the car and waved her out before he shut the door.

She followed after him at a slower pace and watched him bounce over to the castle, his castle. She stopped a few steps from the yellow bug and remembered something. She turned back and popped the trunk. She grabbed the walkie talkies by their antennas and shut the trunk.

Henry frowned as he waited for her to step away from the car, but when she did his expression didn't change much. He cocked his head as he eyed the objects in her hands.

Emma stuffed her car keys into her back pocket and switched one of the walkie talkies into her right hand so she had one in each. She made her way back toward the castle at the same leisurely pace she'd set for herself the first time and handed him one of the walkie talkies.

He accepted it and rested the device in his lap along with the hand he'd used to take it. He watched her hop onto the wooden landing he sat on and get comfortable beside him.

“What's this?”

“A way to communicate,” she answered as she blew hair out of her face then looked at him. “I got them from Mr. Gold today. If you need to talk about something, anything, you can always get a hold of me with that.”

She pointed at the walkie talkie in his hand as she said her last words.

“I don't trust Mr. Gold.”

“Then trust me. Here,” she said as she took back the walkie talkie.

She changed the channel to number eight and matched hers with his before she handed it back to him.

“Channel eight?”

“Yep.”

“Why eight?”

“I've lived in seven different places the last ten years. I didn't like staying in one place too long, still don't, but...now there's you. So, eight because it's our number.”

Henry looked at her quizzically.

“This is the eighth place I've been since you were born and this is the place I want to stay as long as you're here,” she explained.

He smiled at her then looked down at the walkie talkie. He turned up the volume to hear the crackle over the speaker before he held down the communication button.

“Eight is my new favorite number,” he said into the walkie.

Emma smiled down at him then pressed the button on hers.

“Mine too,” she said.

His smile widened and she couldn't help but reach over and playfully mess up his hair.

He laughed and wiggled away from her touch before he ran a hand over his hair to fix it.

“So, what happened with you and my mom last night...after I fell asleep?”

“Nothing,” she shook her head as she continued to lie to him. “We talked... _briefly_ then I left.”

“I wish I'd been awake so you could've stayed for dinner.”

“Another time,” she said as she elbowed him in the bicep to cheer him up.

A thought came to him after a second and he flashed a small smile filled with hope.

“I'll race you through the woods out to the street. If I win, you have to stay for dinner tonight.”

She hesitated, but as she looked down at him and his wishful hazel eyes, she couldn't resist.

“....Okay. And what if I win?”

“What do you want?”

“Hmm,” she thought about it, truly thought about what would be worth betting a ten year old.

Then it came to her.

“I wanna see you get an 'A' on your next history test.”

“What if you win, but I don't get an 'A'?”

“Then you'll spend the next few days we're together with me studying and doing homework.”

“No! That's what my mom does.”

“The you should be really motivated to get that 'A'.”

“You're on,” he agreed after a moment.

Emma grinned and hopped off the castle. She set her walkie talkie down where she previously sat and waited for Henry to follow her lead.

He left his walkie talkie on the space next to him and jumped down from the castle. He smirked up at her and spoke.

“You're gonna lose.”

“I wouldn't bet on that,” she joked.

“Ready?”

“Set.”

“Go!”

The two of them took off at full speed, but Emma slowed down when she made it to the first tree to give him a fighting chance.

Henry took the lead and dodged large, fallen branches as he kicked up leaves. He smiled as he ran and occasionally looked back at Emma to measure the distance between them. He felt confident she wouldn't catch up to him and sped up to reach the pavement in the distance.

Emma allowed him a huge advantage as she purposely acted tired and moved at the pace of a fast walk, not even a jog. She waited until he got cocky enough to keep his eyes on the road ahead then burst into a sprint.

Within a matter of seconds, she was hot on his heels and she didn't try to quiet her feet against the crunching leaves beneath her.

Henry could hear the loud sound and turned to see Emma at arm's length. His eyes went wide as his smile faded in shock.

She laughed as she swooped down and lifted him into her arms. She'd used all her energy to catch up to him so she only had one weapon left. She started to tickle him until he kicked and bucked in her grasp. She smiled as she enjoyed the sound of his laughter and slowly brought him to the ground.

She laid him on his back and continued to tickle him as he rolled from side to side to escape her.

“Stop,” he laughed. “Can't...breathe!”

She tickled him for a few more seconds as she watched his nose scrunch up, his teeth on display as he couldn't contain his laughter. When she thought he was down for the count, she stopped tickling him and pushed off the ground.

She popped up on her feet and jogged toward the road. She made sure to look back at Henry in case he wasn't okay, but smiled when she saw him roll himself into a sitting position.

She looked ahead of her again to avoid running into anything then took another second to look over her shoulder at him once more.

He got up and started to run after her, but they both knew she would be claimed victor.

After a few more strides, Emma looked down as soon as her foot made contact with the pavement. She shot her hands up above her head in victory and spun around to face Henry as his run slowed to a jog.

“I win.”

“By cheating,” he said as he stopped a few feet in front of her and tried to catch his breath.

She panted before she lowered her hands and slapped them against her knees. She bent over and nodded as she tried to regulate her erratic breathing.

“You're right,” she said. “Okay, new deal.”

She pushed off her knees and stood up straight again before she continued.

“I come over for dinner tonight and you get that 'A'.”

“Done.”

“Same consequences apply, though.”

“Got it.”

“All right, I think I've tired myself out enough. Why don't we get out of here.”

“Okay,” he shrugged.

She walked toward him and draped an arm over his shoulder as he turned back the way they came.

They headed toward the castle together, collected their walkie talkies, and got into the car.

Emma and Henry walked side by side into the reception area of the Mayor's office at City Hall. She draped an arm over his shoulder and patted him once to get his attention as they slowed to a stop.

“Why don't you wait here with Meredith while I go talk to your mom, okay,” she asked when their eyes met.

“Why can't I come in with you? She's probably more likely to say yes if I'm there.”

“Because...it might turn into a shouting match and I don't want you to have to see that.”

“She wouldn't yell at you in front of me.”

“Are you sure about that because there's not much she _wouldn't_ do even if you're around.”

He sighed and looked down at the floor before he looked up at her again.

“Okay, but if you're in there for more than ten minutes, I'm coming in.”

She chuckled.

“You got it.”

She patted his back before he went over to one of the chairs on the far side of the room. She watched him take a seat then turned to Meredith.

“Is she in there with anyone?”

“No, but I don't think she wants visitors.”

“That's okay. She'll put up with me.”

Meredith frowned.

“Mr. Glass tried to see her earlier and she threw him out. Literally. She shoved him into the hall with her own hands. I've never seen her do that before. Normally, she calls security, but even then there's usually no need.”

“Well, if she tries anything with me, I can take it,” Emma reassuringly smiled at the receptionist then walked into the hallway leading to Regina's office.

The door was closed, but that didn't stop her from walking right in. She didn't even bother to knock before she opened the door, which immediately angered the brunette before she looked up at the intruder.

“Miss Swan. That door was shut for a reason,” she bitterly said as she threw daggers at the blonde with her eyes.

Emma shut the door behind her after she entered.

“If you really didn't want to be disturbed, you would've locked the door,” she grinned.

“I don't recall locking the door the last time I didn't want to be disturbed.”

“And Meredith walked in right before you had a chance to get off. Guess you didn't learn anything from that little experience.”

Regina rolled her eyes then looked down at the massive amount of paperwork on her desk.

“What is it I can help you with, Sheriff.”

“Dinner.”

Regina's head shot back up as her eyes instantly met Emma's.

“I'm sorry?”

“Let me stay for dinner tonight.”

“You got a free dinner last night.”

“Henry wanted me to stay for dinner last night, but he fell asleep before we could ask you. Today I made a deal with him and said I'd come over.”

“Looks like you're going to have to break that deal or make a new one.”

“That was the new deal. I had kind of an unfair advantage when I made the first one with him and agreed to change it so everyone won.”

“Everyone except me, of course.”

“I wouldn't call last night a loss for you. Sure, you have to clean my apartment for a week, but you were satisfied. Thoroughly if I'm not mistaken,” she smirked as she moved closer to the desk.

“You really want to come over for dinner?”

“Yes.”

“Then you change your deal with me like you changed yours with Henry.”

“What?”

“It's the only way you're setting foot in my house tonight, Miss Swan.”

She sighed and shifted from foot to foot then took a step closer to the desk. She leaned forward and rested her palms against the edge of the desk.

Regina looked from Emma's lips down to her hips as the blonde brought her center closer to the edge of the desk.

“Fine.”

Regina snapped her head back up to make eye contact with Emma at the younger woman's sudden answer.

“And what am I going to get out of this new deal?”

“A free back rub?”

“You'll have to do better than that, dear.”

“And a day off from cleaning my apartment.”

Regina opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out her keys.

“The same day you get the back rub.”

She separated a master key from the key chain.

“Great. You can also help me start dinner tonight,” she grinned and tossed Emma her house key.

Emma caught it with a frown as she looked quizzically from the key in her hand to Regina.

The brunette dropped the key chain back into the drawer and shut it as she continued.

“I make a list of two weeks' worth of dinners and put them up on the refrigerator. The recipe and instructions for the dinner tonight is first on that list. Henry can help you find what you need if you don't know your way around the kitchen.”

Emma's jaw dropped.

“And the first day I'm supposed to clean that awful apartment would have been tomorrow, but you can come over to the house on my lunch break and give me that massage.”

Regina flashed her a satisfied smirk.

“Enjoy that,” she added at the last minute.

Emma rolled her eyes.

Regina stood and leaned over her desk. Her lips nearly brushed against Emma's as they shared the same air.

“Or would you rather enjoy being on your back,” she purred. “Because I can arrange that in a matter of seconds right from where I'm standing.”

Emma slowly grinned as she looked from Regina's eyes down to her lips.

Regina watched Emma's gaze lower and she purposely licked her lips to attract the blonde more.

Emma's lips parted as her breathing quickened.

Regina closed the distance between them and kissed Emma. She reached out and grabbed the V-cut of Emma's shirt. She pulled the shirt toward herself and Emma's upper body followed her lead.

Emma kept her hands on the edge of the desk as she kissed Regina, but the brunette had other ideas.

Regina let go of Emma's shirt when the Sheriff was where she wanted her and moved to the button on her jeans. She stuck her hand inside the denim and tugged. She ran Emma's center into the edge of the desk and caused the blonde groan.

“Can't...” Emma said between kisses. “Henry's here.”

Regina hummed into their next kiss and slipped her hand lower inside Emma's jeans. She cupped the younger woman's sex.

Emma moaned and instantly became wet. She moved her right hand from the desk to Regina's hip. She pulled Regina into the desk and slid her tongue past the Mayor's lips.

Regina thrust a single finger into Emma.

Emma gasped and pulled back from the kiss, but kept her eyes closed and her hand on Regina's hip.

“Seven minutes,” she barely managed to say above a whisper.

“What's that,” Regina breathlessly asked before she pressed her lips to Emma's once more.

Their tongues wrestled for several long seconds, fighting for dominance before they mutually broke the kiss.

“Henry said if I wasn't out of here in ten minutes, he'd come in. Since then we've wasted three minutes. So we have seven minutes.”

“I think getting you off in that amount of time is an achievable goal,” Regina replied as she kissed Emma again and added a finger. “The trouble is keeping you quiet.”

Emma lunged forward and rested her forehead against Regina's shoulder. She gripped tighter at the brunette's hip and moved her left hand from one edge of the desk to the other, the one closer to the Mayor.

Regina used her free hand to grab and hold the left cheek of Emma's backside as she considerably sped up her pace.

Emma's breath hitched and caught in her throat as she tried to keep herself from moaning.

The free hand on Emma's backside held the younger woman's thigh flush against the edge of the desk as Regina circled her thumb over the Sheriff's clit.

Emma scrunched up her face as she tried hard not to raise her voice. She stopped breathing for a few seconds as she waited for the moment to pass then exhaled in a soft whimper.

Regina angled her head downward and bit the shell of Emma's ear as she forced a third finger into the woman. She refrained from using her tongue one her ear to send the Sheriff over the edge because not only did she have Emma's ear in her mouth, but a few strands of blonde hair as well.

She gripped Emma's backside then released it before she gripped it again. She slid her hand down the back of Emma's right thigh then hooked her hand around her inner thigh. She pulled Emma's right knee onto the top of the desk and opened her up more.

She released the shell of Emma's ear and curled her fingers on every inward thrust.

Emma's hand fell from Regina's hip and hooked into the front of the brunette's dress pants. She yanked on them and crashed the Mayor's center against the desk as she let go.

Regina grunted on impact and slowed her fingers to a stop inside Emma. She held them there for a few moments as the blonde panted against her shoulder.

“Don't expect that after dinner,” Regina said in her sultry tone, her mouth still close to Emma's ear.

“Okay,” Emma hazily said.

Regina pulled away from Emma and removed her fingers.

Emma fell forward as Regina's shoulder no longer supported her. Her hand slipped out of Regina's dress pants and gripped the far end of the desk to steady herself.

“I do believe I made that happen in only two minutes, by the way.”

“Congratulations. What do you want, a medal?”

Regina throatily chuckled.

“No, but now you owe me.”

“Great. More deals.”

“No deals, Miss Swan. Technically, it was your turn to satisfy me since last night ended with your pleasure and not mine.”

“Oh, you got plenty of pleasure before the night ended even when I didn't have my hands on you.”

“In any case, you owe me an orgasm and I plan on collecting as soon as possible.”

“Fine by me. My fingers start to twitch now if they're not bringing you to your knees.”

“You've never brought me to my knees.”

“No?”

“And you never will.”

“We'll see about that.”

Emma swiped the key off the desk she hadn't realized she'd dropped then turned and started to leave.

“I'd reconsider leaving this office just yet,” Regina spoke up before she licked her fingers clean.

Emma turned and saw her slip the second finger between her lips. She kept her composure though she watched the Mayor taste her.

“And why's that?”

“Stick your hands in your jeans and feel for yourself,” Regina said before she sucked the third and final finger free of Emma's taste.

“Not much I can do about that right now.”

“On the contrary, dear. Trade with me.”

“Seriously?”

“Normally I wouldn't do such a thing, but you're going home with my son. I don't want him exposed to that.”

“It's not exactly my fault.”

“I wasn't blaming you.”

“That's what it sounded like you were doing.”

Regina shook her head as she unbuttoned her dress pants.

“Lock the door,” she demanded.

Emma sighed and did as she was told.

Regina peeled off her dress pants and underwear.

Emma scanned over Regina's body from her feet up to her exposed sex.

Regina dangled her panties from her index finger and met Emma halfway as they moved to close the space between them.

“You already have a pair of mine,” Emma said as she looked from the underwear to Regina.

“Now we'll be even.”

“Not if I give you the ones I'm wearing.”

“I'm not going to keep them. I'm not even going to wear them, dear. Henry doesn't seem to pay me much attention. I'll be able to slip them into the wash when I get off work in an hour. They should be done after dinner. Feel free to take them with you when you leave.”

She stared at Regina a moment longer before she gave in and unbuttoned her jeans. She pushed them down her body simultaneously with her panties and stepped out of them both.

She picked up the wet red pair of panties and switched them with Regina's dry gray pair. She bent over again as she slipped the new pair on and slowly straightened herself out, her face inches from Regina's center.

Regina took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling before she released it in a sigh. She could feel Emma's hot breath on her sex and clenched her fists.

Emma noticed. She flashed a crooked smirk and took a step closer, still bent over at the waist. She placed her hands on the backs of Regina's thighs and took the Mayor's clit between her lips in a kiss.

Regina kept her hands at her sides to make sure she didn't give Emma any encouragement, but reveled in the feeling of the younger woman's lips on her.

“Don't start anything we both know you can't finish,” she said in a low, sultry tone with her eyes closed.

Emma smiled into the next kiss she gave Regina's clit and crouched down. She balanced her weight on her ankles and nipped at the bundle of nerves with her teeth. She flicked it with the tip of her tongue then pulled away. As she stood up, she brushed her body against Regina's and pulled her in for a kiss.

“I'll pay you back soon enough,” Emma smiled and opened her eyes.

“Is that a promise, Miss Swan?”

“Yes.”

“One you can keep?”

“You probably wouldn't believe me if I said yes so you'll just have wait and find out.”

“Even if I wouldn't believe you, tell me anyway.”

Emma squinted her eyes at Regina as she wondered what caused the brunette to push that question.

“Yes, it's a promise I can keep.”

Regina flashed a grin.

“Good,” she said before she turned and walked back to her pants.

She slipped back into them, Emma's underwear in hand, when Emma danced and jiggled her way into her tight jeans.

There was a knock at the door.

“Emma,” Henry asked from the other side.

“I'll be right out, kid,” she quickly answered as she buttoned her pants.

She hoped her response would keep him from trying to open the door because she knew the question that would follow if he'd tried it: why was it locked.

“It's been ten minutes. Did she say okay?”

“Henry,” Regina asked. “It's okay. I was just telling Miss Swan where the instructions for dinner were.”

She moved to the door and unlocked it after she checked to make sure Emma was decent. She tucked the red underwear into her dress pants with the front of her blouse seconds before she opened the door.

“Why does she need instructions,” he looked up at her, bewildered.

“Your mom needs help making dinner so I'm gonna get it started.”

“Really,” he asked Emma.

“Yeah, so let's go figure it out together. Okay?”

He smiled up at her as she took a step forward, into the doorway, and walked him away from the office.

Regina forced a smile as she watched Henry pay more attention to Emma yet again.

Emma looked back and caught the sadness in her brown eyes before Regina's gaze darted up to Emma.

Regina masked her hurt and gave Emma a nod.

Emma went along with it and gave a warm smile before she turned around and left with Henry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

Henry leaned against the counter on the far side of the room by the cupboard with the dishes. He watched Emma move around the kitchen and waited until he was needed.

Emma pulled her hair into a loose ponytail as she crossed the room to a cupboard across from the oven. She crouched down and looked inside for a skillet. She scanned over the area and found three stacked together on the right side of the bottom shelf. She grabbed the one on top and shut the cupboard as she stood.

She set the skillet on the stove and turned to Henry.

“Cooking spray,” she asked him.

“Cabinet next to the one you just opened.”

“Right. Makes sense,” Emma said as she spun around and went to the cupboard Henry mentioned.

She bent over as she opened it and took out the cooking spray.

“Most of the stuff in here is organized by logic,” Henry informed her. “My mom grouped stuff by their uses. Like the pan and the cooking spray. You mostly use cooking spray on what's in the cabinet with the pans so they're next to the cooking spray. Not everything's as close as that, but they're all in the same area.”

Emma gave a single nod.

“Got it. Thanks for the tip.”

“No problem,” Henry said before he looked quizzically at her. “Why did you agree to help with dinner?”

“Because,” Emma started as she continued to work on dinner. “It was the only way to get your mom to agree.”

“So...you really want to be here?”

Emma frowned and stopped what she was doing. She turned to face Henry completely and got down to his level as she gently gripped his biceps.

“Of course I do. Why do youthink I'm here?”

“Because of the deal.”

“Well, yeah, I'm here because of the deal too, but, Henry...I made that deal with you for a reason. I changed that deal to better suit our situation for a reason.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm trying. I'm trying to be here for you. I _am_ here for you. I'm not leaving,” she shook her head to reaffirm her words.

Henry smiled.

“She's gonna put you through hell,” he informed her after a moment.

Emma smiled and laughed before she stood up straight.

“It's nothing I can't handle.”

“But magic-”

Emma shook her head.

“You know, what? Even if she is the Evil Queen like you seem to think, even if she's got magic on her side, I won't go down without a fight. I can take her.”

_I've done a good job so far,_ Emma thought to herself.

Emma went back to preparing dinner and after an hour, she had the side dishes cooling on the island. She saved the main meal for Regina, not wanting to ruin their dinner, and waited for the brunette to return as she sat in the living room with Henry.

She knew it would be a while longer after the text Regina sent her just as she'd placed the dinner rolls on the cooling rack.

“ _Going to be late. -R”_

Until then, she and Henry had to find something to do.

She sat cross-legged on the floor on one side of a board game as Henry sat similarly on the other. 

“This is boring,” Henry bluntly stated as he threw a game card onto the board.

“You're right, but what else could we do?”

Henry thought about it.

“I have Twister,” he exclaimed when he came to his epiphany.

“Seriously? Your mom bought you Twister?”

“Yeah, a couple years ago. She threw a birthday party for me and invited some of the other kids over. We didn't really have a lot of games then so most of the games we do have are from that party.”

“Wait, she invited people _here_?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled as he saw Emma's shocked expression.

“Why? I mean, I know you said it was your birthday, but she hates everyone.”

“I know. She'd never really thrown me a party before either, but I think she just wanted me to make friends.”

“Did you?”

“Do I have any friends now,” he asked as though the answer to her question went without saying.

Emma frowned and slumped over with slight disappointment.

“I had a good time, though,” he said to try and cheer her up.

Emma looked up at him as he stood across from her. She flashed him a hopeful smile.

“That's good. We'll have to throw you another birthday party this year.”

Henry scrunched up his face and shook his head.

“Why not?”

“Even _if_ my mom would do that, I don't really talk to anyone at school. It'd be awkward to force them all to come to a party for me when they don't even know me! Not really.”

Emma tilted her head to the side in a nod of comprehension.

“That's fair.”

“Anyway, are you up for Twister?”

“Why wouldn't I be?”

“You know, you're older and less...capable of certain physical activities.”

“Oh,” Emma said as she stood, insulted. “I'm twenty-eight not eighty-two, okay? I'm still young enough to kick your ass at this game.”

He laughed.

“Yeah, keep laughing. You're not too old to be thrown over my knee and spanked,” she warningly pointed at him.

He laughed a little harder.

She smiled and chuckled.

“Did I lose mom points for swearing in front of you?”

He shook his head.

“Definitely not.”

“Okay, just don't tell your mom.”

“I won't. That is unless you wanna make this game of Twister interesting.”

“A betting man, are you? Should I be worried about your gambling problem?”

“Not yet.”

“Still, I think I've made one too many deals. This game is strictly for fun, okay? No agendas, no making things interesting, no promises. Agreed?”

“That's fine by me,” he said before he turned around and ran into the study across from the parlor.

He returned moments later with the game in his hand. He opened the box before he knelt down in front of the board game.

Emma cleaned up the last game as Henry laid out the new one and within minutes, they were shoeless and ready to play.

“Who spins,” Emma asked.

“You should do it.”

Emma defensively raised her hands and widened her eyes.

“Sir, yes, sir,” she said then finished with a salute.

He smiled.

“Okay,” she said as bent over and spun the spinner. “Right hand red.”

Henry did as instructed while Emma spun for herself.

“Left foot yellow,” she announced as she moved her foot to the designated color.

The game went on for about as long as Emma had spent on her contribution to dinner before the two were giggling and tangled up like a giant pretzel.

Emma struggled to the reach the spinner and spun for Henry when her finger barely managed to touch it.

She made a few noises of discomfort before she told him the results of the spin.

“Left hand green.”

“No! That's all the way over there,” he whined.

Emma chuckled.

“Give up yet, kid?”

“Not even close,” he said with determination as he reached past her to place his hand on a green circle.

He was horizontally stretched from one side of the game mat to the other while Emma was positioned in a back bend, vertically splayed across the mat. He slid beneath her to achieve his goal of left hand green and the two were more than intertwined at the legs at that point.

Emma felt his head graze past her shirt as it hung loosely from her in her position. A brief moment of panic set in. Until one of them moved again, she couldn't fall or she would crush him. She didn't know how much longer she could last against a ten year old, sore from being worked out in every possible way by the aggressive Regina Mills.

She quickly looked around for a better way to fall in case she couldn't support herself anymore, something that might hurt her more, but wouldn't hurt Henry at all.

“Are you gonna spin anytime soon, Emma,” Henry said in a strained voice.

“Oh, right,” she said as she tried to calm down.

She contorted her body the best she could to keep herself steady as she spun.

“Right foot green.”

Her foot was trapped between Henry's left foot and right hand on blue. She moved carefully as she tried not to kick him or knock him over. Her deliberate pace put extra pressure on tired muscles and she gritted her teeth as she repositioned herself.

She weighted herself on her left leg and tapped her right foot onto a green circle, one free circle between her foot and Henry's hand. Her sock didn't keep her steady and she slipped a little.

With Henry underneath her, she quickly arched her back further to keep from touching him at all and used every muscle in her left thigh to keep her upright.

The door opened and heels clicked a few times against the floor before the door shut.

“Henry,” Regina called.

“In the living room,” he answered.

Emma opened her mouth and let out a silent yelp as she felt the cut on her left thigh break open. She squeezed her eyes tight, but took a deep breath after a couple seconds. She couldn't let Henry know she was hurt. She didn't want to ruin the evening.

She pushed through the pain and opened her eyes as Regina stepped into the living room.

“What on earth are you two doing,” Regina asked as she rested a hand on the back of the couch.

“Playing Twister,” Henry answered, though Regina couldn't see his face.

Regina looked at the two of them. She couldn't see Henry past his pants due to the tunnel Emma seemed to have made for him with her own body. Her gaze lingered as she appreciated Emma's lower stomach. Her shirt didn't cover the length of the blonde in her bent state.

She grinned as she allowed her eyes to roam, supple breasts pointed toward the ceiling, blonde tresses swept up in a lazy ponytail, and toned thighs displayed perfectly through tight denim. Her grin faded when she noticed Emma's left pant leg.

She opened her mouth to call off the game at the sight of blood staining through when Emma spoke up first.

“Henry, why don't...you spin this time,” she spoke through gritted teeth.

Regina subconsciously held her breath as she watched the scene play out in front of her. She could've been the bad guy and told Henry to wash up before dinner, end the game, but something about the way Emma conducted him gave her a sense of hope. She backed off and, dare she say it, trusted the blonde not to hurt her son.

“Left foot yellow,” he announced seconds before he moved his left foot to the appropriate place.

Emma grunted and fought back tears as she opened her wound more to reach the spinner. She looked under her to see where Henry was as she tried to plan an impromptu exit strategy.

She gently, carefully, wiggled around her left ankle to feel out where Henry's leg was. She spun the spinner to throw off his suspicions, the sound of her flicking the game piece a way to convince Henry her foot only moved to help her spin. The spinner stopped a few seconds before she moved her foot into place and looked at it.

Right hand green.

She released a sigh in defeat and made a decision.

“Left foot _red_ ,” she slowly said until she forced out the last word through gritted teeth.

When she announced red, she used her left foot to push Henry toward the couch as she rolled herself to the right, toward the spinner. She didn't knock him over, but she threw off his balance.

He fell onto the mat, his head moved a few inches out from under where Emma was over top of him. He accidentally trapped Emma's left ankle between his back and his right calve as she tried to fall onto her right side.

With her foot trapped under Henry, she crashed onto her front on the floor with a wince as her left thigh twisted and only caused her to bleed more.

She clawed at the ground and slowly tried to get up after Henry sat up on his knees, releasing his unintentional hold on her.

“You cheated again,” he said as he turned to her.

“My bad, Henry,” she said in a raspy voice as she tried to contain the pain she felt. “I'll make it up to you.”

Regina let go of the breath she then realized she'd been holding.

“Henry, go wash up. I need to talk with Miss Swan,” Regina said as a way to help Emma cover up her injury.

“Okay,” he sadly said to her then directed his next words at Emma. “You lose mom points when you cheat.”

She started to curl into the fetal position as he headed toward the stairs. His words had stung more than her bleeding thigh, but she wouldn't cry. Not over the physical pain and not over the emotional. She saved him and if that meant he thought she cheated, she'd suffer in silence and work harder to prove herself to him next time.

She rolled onto her back with a hiss and reached out to touch her blood soaked jeans.

Regina moved from behind the couch and knelt down beside Emma. She reached over the blonde and lightly touched her left thigh. Their fingertips brushed but neither one of them mentioned it let alone focused on it.

“In my bathroom there's antiseptic and gauze. You know where the clean towels are, in case you need any. Take as long as you need.”

“You're giving me permission to be in your bedroom?”

Regina grinned.

“Maybe next time you'll give me a better reason to have you in there.”

She stood and extended a hand to Emma.

Emma smirked and took her hand. Regina pulled her to her feet and she grunted until she stood up straight.

“How much did you do for dinner?”

“Everything but dinner.”

Regina rolled her eyes.

“Of course you left the thing that takes the longest to cook and involves the most amount of work.”

Emma flashed a satisfied grin when Regina turned to the kitchen.

“At least I know I left an impression,” Regina quipped and spun on her heels to face Emma when she reached the island.

Emma looked at her quizzically.

Regina looked from Emma's eyes to her left thigh.

Emma followed her gaze and noticed the blood had pooled in the shape of the “R” Regina had carved into her. It wasn't as smooth as Regina had cut it due to all the thrashing around she had done in the jeans, but the letter was still distinct.

She sighed as she looked back up at Regina.

The brunette smirked as she stood by the island. Her eyes scanned over Emma one more time before she turned back to the kitchen.

Emma limped toward the stairs when Regina spoke, barely looking over her shoulder when she did.

“What you did, sucking it up for Henry, that was nice,” the brunette confessed. “And for the best.”

Emma stopped and looked at Regina as she tried to form words in response. She couldn't come up with any.

She knew she shouldn't have, but she took what Regina said as a compliment. She felt better about her decision hearing someone else say it, having Regina say it. She respected the mother of her child's opinion more than she liked to admit, though it wasn't a bad thing. Regina had raised her son the last ten years, she knew more about mothering him than she did so her words spoke volumes. She almost felt accepted in some small way into the family.

“Thanks,” Emma slowly said then continued up the stairs.

Emma took her time cleaning her wound, her hair then released from the ponytail. She sat on the edge of the bath tub in the master bathroom as she applied the necessary products. It stung and, though she was used to it, she needed a moment to process everything.

She started to wrap gauze over her thigh when the doorbell rang. She looked up and waited to hear who was at the door. She heard the click-clacking of heels against the floor and someone, presumably Regina, opened the door. A few words were exchanged then the door was closed. She couldn't tell who had been talking or what was said so she went back to wrapping the gauze.

Not long after she finished covering her thigh, Regina appeared in the bathroom doorway. She leaned against the door frame and stared at Emma's bandages before her gaze rose to meet Emma's.

“How does it look,” Regina asked.

“Like a giant, bleeding capital 'R'.” Emma tiredly answered.

“We were supposed to have lasagna for dinner tonight.”

“I read the recipe.”

“I ordered some pizza instead.”

“Really?”

Regina nodded and moved from the door frame to the tub. She sat beside Emma on the edge and looked at her hands after she placed them in her lap.

“Two reasons. One, Henry likes pizza and I'm sure it'll make him feel better. And two, it's faster. I figured we could all use a quick solution. I'm tired, you're hurt, Henry's upset. Everyone wins this way, right?”

“Since when do you care about me?”

“You were hardly included in my decision making, Miss Swan.”

“And earlier? You came to check on me after Henry went upstairs. You let me come up here and told me to take as long as I needed.”

“It was only to make sure Henry didn't see anything. Don't mistake my actions for kindness. You mean nothing more to me than you did the day you arrived here in Storybrooke.”

Emma looked down at her bandaged thigh. After a few seconds, Regina rested a hand on it.

Emma looked at Regina again and got lost in her eyes. Her lips parted, she tried to read the older woman, before her eyes wandered south to Regina's lips.

Regina leaned in and kissed Emma. She moved her hand from the top of Emma's thigh to her inner thigh as she deepened the kiss. She turned her body toward the blonde and placed a hand on Emma's neck, her thumb pressed against the blonde's jaw, to keep her lips close.

Emma brought her hand to Regina's, the one on her neck, and pulled it away as she broke the kiss.

“I thought you said not to expect this for dinner.”

Regina shook her head.

“I said _after_ dinner. I didn't say anything about before dinner,” she grinned and leaned in again.

Emma turned her head at the last second and Regina ended up kissing her cheek.

Regina sighed and backed away as she removed her hand from Emma's thigh.

“What is it, Miss Swan,” Regina bitterly stated as she stood.

“Henry's downstairs?”

“Yes, but Henry being in the other room hasn't been an issue with us before, has it.”

“He's downstairs with dinner and I told him I'd be here for dinner. Please don't let me screw this up with him.”

Regina's lips curled into a subtle smile she quickly hid.

“Fine. But you're to come here on _my_ lunch break tomorrow for the massage you owe me. Remember that.”

“Of course, Madame Mayor,” Emma slightly grinned as she stood up.

Regina looked at Emma. She smirked at the sight of her gray panties on the younger woman and the fact that other than her V-neck tee, it was all Emma wore.

“You still want me,” Emma teased as her grin spread.

Regina chuckled.

“You're my favorite play thing, dear. Of course I want you,” she replied as she pushed Emma's hair behind her shoulder to expose the hickey.

She kissed it then pulled back at looked at Emma.

“I'm gonna need pants,” Emma said.

“Bottom drawer of the dresser. I have a couple pairs of sweatpants.”

Emma went to the dresser and pulled open the bottom drawer. Inside she found a few leisurely clothes she'd never seen the woman wear before let alone think the brunette would even own.

She pulled out a dark gray pair and slid them on without a problem. She looked up at Regina.

“Thanks.”

“Your welcome. Now go distract Henry while I start that load of laundry we talked about earlier or I will be keeping your underwear.”

Emma stuck her tongue out at Regina and headed downstairs. She saw Henry picking at the open box of pizza on the dining room table and smiled.

“Looking for the biggest piece,” she asked as she approached.

“How'd you know?”

“I do the same thing.”

He frowned.

“I'm still mad at you.”

“I know. I'm sorry, Henry. When we were racing, I shouldn't have cheated, but it was fun tickling you. Plus, I did make it fair and made a new deal, right?”

“But Twister?”

“That was not acceptable. I did that for selfish reasons and I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I don't consider myself the winner.”

“Maybe a little better,” he softly said after a moment.

Emma smiled again.

“Why are you wearing different pants,” he asked as he took in her new appearance.

“Oh, after you went upstairs I came into the kitchen to try to help your mom with the rest of dinner and accidentally spilled sauce on my jeans.”

“Is that why she got pizza instead,” he asked.

As if on cue, Regina walked into the kitchen with Emma's pants and underwear, the underwear discretely hidden between the jeans folded over twice on her forearm.

Neither one of them noticed as she crossed to the laundry room when Emma answered Henry.

“She thought you'd like pizza better.”

“Better than her lasagna? She makes great lasagna.”

Emma beamed.

“Does she?”

“Yeah. It would've been okay if we'd had lasagna tonight.”

“You were upset and the lasagna takes a while to make so she decided you'd appreciate the pizza more. Is that okay?”

Regina perked up her ears to hear the conversation between Emma and Henry as she put together a load of laundry.

“Yeah. ...I'm glad she let you stay for dinner tonight.”

“Me too,” Emma said as she looked off toward the kitchen.

After a few seconds, she noticed Regina start the washing machine and bit her bottom lip. It was a non-sexual act as she stared at the brunette. Something was changing, either between them or within her, but she felt something she couldn't quite explain when she was with Regina.

The older woman walked out of the laundry room and into the kitchen.

Emma averted her eyes and focused on Henry as he bit into his pizza. She stroked her fingers through his hair as she stood beside him.

Regina sidled up to Emma and stopped at her side as she stared down at the pizza.

“I put your jeans in the wash. The sooner they're cleaned the easier it'll be to remove the stain,” Regina explained.

“Thank you,” Emma replied as Regina tangled her fingers in the tips of curly blonde hair.

Emma turned to Regina with parted lips. Her chest noticeably rose and fell as she stared into darkening brown eyes.

Regina's gaze fell from green eyes to pink lips. After a fleeting second, she dropped her hand from Emma's hair and took a step back then looked down at Henry with a warm smile.

“How's the pizza?”

“Good,” he said with his mouth full.

Regina lightly chuckled.

“I'm glad, but we should sit down and eat and _you_ shouldn't talk while you're chewing.”

“Right. Sorry,” he said after he swallowed and grabbed a few napkins.

He took his seat in front of the pizza box and Regina took her usual seat while Emma sat at the other end of the table, the spot she tried to sit in the previous night.

Regina glanced across the table at Emma and did nothing though she secretly wanted Emma at her side. She didn't want Henry to suspect the two were getting along because, technically they weren't, but she couldn't deny things were changing between them. She just didn't know into what.

“Henry, will you pass me a slice,” Regina kindly asked as she held out her plate.

Henry grabbed a slice and carefully dropped it onto her plate.

“Want one Emma,” he asked as he reached into the box then hesitated before he pulled one away from the other slices.

“Small one,” she said.

“Still full from your late lunch,” he said as he separated a small slice from the rest of them.

“That's one reason.”

“What's the other?”

“I think I'm gonna cut back on greasy foods. Racing you today showed me how out of shape I am I so I'm gonna better my diet and start running. What do you say? Wanna do it with me?”

“I already have a pretty strict diet,” he answered as he shot Regina a look then put the slice on Emma's plate.

“You could come running with me. Don't worry, I'll go slow. Nothing more than a jog. It won't kill you.”

He chuckled.

“On Sundays?”

“Sure. We can even jog to Granny's on lunch break.”

“We should do laps around the station too,” he excitedly said as the idea came to him.

Regina slowly smiled as she watched her son get animated over exercise. Maybe having Emma around wasn't such a bad influence on him after all.

“Sounds good,” Emma nodded in agreement as she set her plate down in front of her.

She looked over at Regina, almost longingly or searching for approval, as the brunette chewed. Their eyes met and Emma, for once, didn't tense. She sat staring across the table at Regina for what seemed like a couple minutes when Henry excused himself and walked into the kitchen.

The sound of his voice broke their eye contact as they watched him leave the table.

He cleaned his plate in the sink then headed back into the dining room.

“Can Emma stay and watch a movie with me before bed,” he asked Regina.

Regina wiped off her hands on one of the napkins that came with the pizza and hesitated. She looked from Henry to Emma who had froze in her seat before she could stand and clear her plate.

“I suppose that would be okay. That is,” she turned to the blonde. “If Emma doesn't mind staying.”

“Really,” Henry asked, hopeful and excited as he looked from Regina to Emma.

“I'd love to watch a movie with you, kid,” Emma smiled at him as she relaxed her muscles and stood.

She took her plate with her as she wiped her mouth with a napkin and made her way to the kitchen.

“Yes,” he hissed with victory and broke out into a short, subtle dance.

“Hey,” Emma started after she left her plate in the sink and turned back to the dining room. “If I'm gonna stay, you've got to settle down. It's a school night and it's almost nine. One movie and it's bedtime.”

“Yes, _mom_ ,” he said as he stopped dancing and rolled his eyes.

Emma immediately looked to Regina and cringed as fear rose in her that the woman wouldn't take too kindly to Henry calling her mom, even if his tone wasn't endearing.

Sadness was hidden behind brown eyes, though Emma could see it. She mouthed, “Sorry” to the older woman when Henry went up to her and grabbed her hand.

“Come on, Emma,” Henry said as he started to pull her toward the living room. “Help me pick out a movie.”

Emma's gaze faltered to glance down at Henry then looked back at Regina within a split second.

Regina saw Emma's struggle and actually appreciated the blonde's concern. She mouthed, “It's okay” and nodded.

Emma nervously smiled at Regina then looked forward as Henry continued to drag her to their movie collection.

Regina closed the pizza box and took care of her plate. She took the other dishes in the sink and loaded them, along with hers, into the dish washer. She uncovered the dinner rolls on the island and tried one. It wasn't bad. If she hadn't already known Emma was good at following directions, the rolls certainly let her in on that little secret.

She knew Emma didn't like, and rarely respected, authority, but she knew how to be obedient. She took direction well by the taste of the dinner rolls and Regina hoped she'd get to explore that talent with the blonde in other ways sooner rather than later.

“You guys don't have a lot of movies, do you,” Emma asked as she looked over the scarce shelf of DVDs in the entertainment system.

“Not really. My mom likes it when I read more than 'kill brain cells watching that garbage.'”

Emma smiled.

“I think I have a couple movies in the trunk of my car. Want me to bring them in?”

“Yeah!”

Regina walked into the living room as Emma made her way to the door.

Henry started to follow her like stray puppy.

Emma noticed and turned around. She saw Regina and answered the brunette's silent question.

“I'm going to get some movies out of my car. _Henry,_ is staying here.”

“What? I want to go with you!”

“I told you I'd stay if you settled down. That means park your butt on that couch and get comfortable.”

“But what if you don't come back? What if you go out for your movies and leave?”

“What did I tell you earlier today? I said I was gonna stay, didn't I?”

“Yeah, in Storybrooke. That doesn't mean you won't take off after dinner,” he frowned.

Emma sighed and crouched down in front of him. She had to look up at him from her new position and gently gripped his biceps.

“I am not leaving, Henry. I know it's probably a lot to ask, but I need you to trust me, okay? Trust me when I say I'm not leaving before we watch a movie together tonight. I'm not leaving Storybrooke. I'm not leaving you ever. You got it?”

Regina balled up a fist and pressed it to her chest. Part of her wanted Emma to stick around while a darker side of her hated the blonde for every truthful word she spoke about staying.

“You promise?”

“I promise. Favorite number eight, remember?”

He nodded.

“Okay,” she said as she stood up. “You can watch me from the side windows by the door, but you stay _inside_ , okay?”

“Okay.”

Emma briefly looked at Regina before she turned and walked to the door with Henry close behind.

She closed the door behind her when she walked out and Henry stood in front of the windows beside the front door.

Regina watched her son stare out at the yard. She didn't know why he looked so tiny and lost whenever Emma left, but it broke her heart to see Henry fearful and sad. She came up behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders as she watched Emma with him out of support.

He put a hand over one of hers and stepped back to lean into her.

“She's coming right back,” Regina reassured him.

“Do you trust her too?”

Regina's lips parted as she thought about it, her eyes focused on the younger woman as she dug into her trunk in search for movies.

“I...” she trailed off with a weak voice before she cleared her throat and spoke from a place of strength. “If she doesn't come back inside, I'll make sure she doesn't leave like that again.”

“You won't her, right?”

“No, but I won't promise not to yell at her. You wouldn't mind if I lecture her loudly, would you?”

He shook his head after a moment.

Emma shut her trunk, a few movies stacked in her right hand, and came up the walkway.

“She's coming back,” Henry beamed.

“I told you she would.”

He turned in Regina's arms and hugged her.

“Thank you,” he said as he closed his eyes and squeezed her in a hug.

“You're welcome,” she said as she dipped down and rested a cheek on his head.

She kissed him then let go when he slowly turned to the door as they heard it open.

Emma smiled at the two of them when she saw them at the window. She shut the door and took a step further into the house. She looked from Henry to the movies in her hand and started reading off the titles.

“I've got the Lion King, Hocus Pocus, The Emperor's New Groove, and 101 Dalmatians.”

“Those are all Disney movies,” Henry said as he invaded Emma's personal space and took the movies from the her.

“Yeah. They're the only movies I thought you'd want to watch. Plus, these are the only ones I had in my trunk not rated PG-13 or R.”

“I'm not complaining, but what are the other ones?”

“Uh,” Emma tried to think of the names off the top of her head. “A couple of low budget films you wouldn't know and Fight Club.”

“Why do you even have kids movies,” Regina suddenly blurted her question.

“I happen to like them.”

Henry smiled up at her.

“I think I want to see The Emperor's New Groove.”

“You got it, kid.”

Emma and Henry both headed toward the living room and Emma took the movies back from him.

Regina waited a few seconds before she followed them. She watched as Henry sat on the couch and got comfortable as Emma searched for the DVD player and put in the movie.

Henry grabbed the remote and changed the channel until there was a screen with the brand of the DVD player on it with a caption bar at the top that read,  _“Loading Disk.”_

After a few seconds, the screen went black then started to show the previews.

Henry pressed the Menu button and skipped them as Emma walked over to the couch. He pressed play as she sat down next to him.

He set the remote on the couch to his right, Emma on his left, then reached behind him and grabbed the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch. He threw it over them.

Emma helped him adjust it to fit their bodies as she scooted closer to him.

He laid his head on her shoulder as the movie started.

Regina turned off the lights in the living room and went upstairs.

About two hours later, Regina put her book down on the nightstand and left the comfort of her bedroom. She descended the stairs and went into the living room while the credits from the movie finished scrolling up the screen.

She looked at Emma and Henry on the couch. Both were bundled up in the blanket and Henry was curled into Emma's side as he slept. Emma had an arm around Henry, comforting and slightly protective. She rested her head on the back of the couch, her feet crossed at the ankles on the coffee table.

Regina walked over to the table and grabbed the remote. She stopped the movie and turned off the TV then set the remote back on the table. She patted Emma's ankles a couple times then lifted them and removed them from the table altogether. She let Emma's feet fall to the ground with a thud and caused her to stir.

Emma crankily scrunched up her face before she opened her eyes. When she did, she looked around, confused, and took a minute to accept her surroundings. She stared up at Regina and started to lean forward when she felt Henry nuzzle further into her side.

She stopped all movements and tensed as she looked down at him.

“What time is it,” Emma groggily asked as she slowly, gently moved Henry away from her.

He turned over and leaned into the couch, his back to Emma.

She eased herself off the couch and stood as she looked at Regina again.

“Almost eleven,” the brunette quietly answered as she looked Emma over in her sweatpants.

“I guess I should be going then. Uh, is the laundry done?”

“In about twenty minutes it will be.”

Emma groaned.

“I guess you can just keep my pants. And my underwear. I'll get them later.”

“Or you could stay.”

“What?”

“Just until the laundry is done. It's only twenty minutes, Miss Swan.”

She shook her head.

“No, I'm...I'm tired. If I wait around any longer I wouldn't make the drive back to Mary Margaret's.”

“You look like you wouldn't make it even if you left now.”

“Do you _want_ me to stay?”

“If you stayed, I wouldn't have to carry Henry up to his room.”

Emma rolled her eyes and scoffed. She turned to the couch and hooked an arm around Henry. She pulled him to the edge of the couch and hooked her other arm under his legs. She lifted him into her arms and grunted as she stood with him.

He slowly started to wake up.

“Emma,” he hazily asked as he barely opened his eyes.

“Go back to sleep, kid,” she soothingly said as she started to walk toward the stairs.

“It's okay,” he started. “I can...I can take myself upstairs,” he sleepily said before he yawned.

Emma smiled at him.

“Don't worry about it. I've got you.”

“Are you wearing a jacket today?”

She softly chuckled.

“Not at the moment.”

“Okay,” he said before he started to fall asleep again.

“Why would he ask about your jacket,” Regina asked as she followed Emma upstairs.

“I'll explain later.”

She carefully laid Henry in bed and did what she had done the night before. She took off his shoes and tucked him in.

“I hope you don't make it a habit of having him fall asleep before he gets into his pajamas, Miss Swan. That's two nights in a row now he's slept in his clothes,” Regina started after Emma shut Henry's door. “Now what was he saying about your jacket?”

“I told him I got this,” she said as she flashed her hickey. “From carrying him to bed last night. I said that my jacket scraped me and pressed into my skin a lot trying not to hit his head on the way up here.”

“So you've been lying to my son.”

“Did you want me to tell him the truth, Madame Mayor,” Emma cockily asked with a grin as she stepped closer to Regina before she headed toward the stairs.

Regina grinned when Emma wasn't looking and followed Emma down the hall. She grabbed Emma's forearm and stopped her at the top of the stairs.

“Wait,” she said as she tugged on Emma's arm.

Emma turned and faced her.

“I want to play,” Regina huskily said with a wicked glint in her eyes.

She ran her hand down Emma's arm and hooked her index finger in the waistband of the sweats.

“I'm tired, Regina.”

“You're never too tired to please me,” Regina said as she closed the space. “This time I thought maybe we could go to my bedroom.”

Regina pulled at the sweats to force Emma to close the remaining distance between them.

“Not tonight. I'm ready to crash.”

“And there's nothing that could wake you up,” Regina asked before she kissed Emma.

Emma hummed into the kiss and placed a hand on Regina's hip after a moment.

Regina grinned into the next kiss and pushed Emma up against the wall, close to the staircase. She deepened the kiss and slid her hands inside the sweats. She teasingly grabbed at the underwear before releasing it and ran her fingers up and down the soft material.

Emma's breathing quickened as she pressed into Regina's touch. She wrapped her arms around Regina's neck and raised her right leg to Regina's hip.

Regina took Emma's cue and grabbed Emma's ass before she pushed her flush against the wall again.

Simultaneously, Emma wrapped her other leg around Regina's waist as their teeth gnashed in a messy but passionate kiss.

“Stay,” Regina panted as she asked then kissed Emma again.

Emma softly moaned before she broke their kiss.

“Okay.”

 


	13. Chapter 13

Regina started to grind her center against Emma's as she pressed the blonde further against the wall.

Emma bit her lip and tried not to pant loudly.

Regina scooped Emma into her arms and pulled her away from the wall. She carried her, the blonde's legs firmly wrapped around her hips, from the hallway to her bedroom.

She threw Emma down on the bed, her back landing on the mattress with a thud. She bounced into the air for a fleeting second then fell onto the bed again.

Regina moved her hand to the band of the sweatpants Emma wore and slipped a hand in her panties. She thrust a single, teasing finger into her and watched Emma close her eyes at the forceful touch.

Emma might have been turned on in the hallway, but she wasn't wet. Without any lubrication, Regina's finger entered her sharply.

Regina removed her finger then yanked the sweatpants and underwear off in one harsh, rapid movement. She carelessly flung the clothes across the room and lowered herself between Emma's legs.

Emma gasped and tensed as Regina not-too-lightly bit her clit.

“Ah,” Emma grunted and jerked her hips up and away from the brunette.

Regina was relentless, however, and followed the Sheriff's movements toward the head of the bed.

Emma threw her head back and closed her eyes.

Regina pushed Emma's legs further apart and tugged at the woman's clit. With the bundle of nerves trapped between her teeth, she re-angled herself and pulled it upward just an inch.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut tighter and hissed.

Regina let go and licked the Sheriff's clit.

Emma sighed and relaxed.

Regina made her way back up Emma's body and grinned.

“Can't handle the pain this time,” she asked, her voice sultry.

“You wanna hurt me? Bring it on,” Emma responded in a low tone.

“Miss Swan, I highly doubt you could withstand what I'll do to you.”

“Then let me prove you wrong.”

Regina softly, throatily chuckled above the blonde.

“You don't give up, do you?”

“When have you ever known me to give up?”

“Do you really want me to hurt you to prove a point?”

Emma looked from Regina's eyes to her lips then met her gaze again before she answered.

“Yes.”

“Then you have no one to blame but yourself for what's about to happen,” Regina said as she leaned in and kissed Emma.

She bit Emma's bottom lip after the kiss and clawed at the Sheriff's hip. She reached a hand between them and thrust two fingers inside Emma. She kept them still and pressed her dress pants against Emma's sex. She started to grind against Emma at a moderate pace and bit the woman's lip a little harder.

Emma squirmed and let out a soft sound of struggle.

Regina hummed as she released Emma's lip and looked at Emma as she flicked her thumb over the Sheriff's clit.

Emma's pupils widened as her breathing started to become erratic.

Regina started to move her fingers. She thrust in and out of Emma at the same pace she'd set with the rest of her body.

Emma made a noise between a groan and a moan as she started to pant.

“Look at me, “Regina commanded.

Emma looked around the room then at the ceiling before she closed her eyes.

Regina added a third finger and Emma writhed beneath her.

“Look at me,” Regina repeated slower and with more force.

Emma gulped then licked her lips before she shook her head.

Regina sat up a bit, but stayed on her knees as she continued to move in and out of Emma. She pressed the heel of her hand against Emma's abdomen and pushed up Emma's shirt until her hand touched the under wire of her bra.

She curled her body as she leaned in and kissed the skin at Emma's ribs. A few open mouthed kisses and a couple teasing licks later, she sunk her teeth into soft, pale flesh.

Emma arched her back and gritted her teeth. She reached out and grabbed onto the waistband of Regina's dress pants. She pulled Regina into her and rubbed her center against the Mayor's at the pace the brunette had set.

Emma fought to open her eyes as she tried to regulate her breathing. She knew there would be a bite mark on her ribs and she could already feel the bruise start to appear.

Regina let go of Emma's ribs and looked down at Emma.

After a few seconds, she was able to obey Regina and looked up at her with darkened eyes and dilated pupils.

Regina devilishly grinned and removed her fingers.

Emma shuddered then relaxed as the pain slowly subsided in her sex.

Regina lowered herself between Emma's legs and ran her tongue through the Sheriff's folds. She tantalizingly formed circles around Emma's opening then came up to her clit. She licked up and down then in circles before she roamed over the length of her increasingly slick center.

Emma's breath hitched as she arched her back to press herself against Regina's tongue.

Just when Emma was comfortable, Regina moved up her body and waited until their eyes met before she slipped three fingers inside the younger woman.

Emma bit her bottom lip and grabbed a fistful of bed sheets as they resumed their previous pace together.

Regina gripped the hem of Emma's shirt that was rolled up to her bra, and pulled the shirt over her chest.

Emma sat up and raised her arms as Regina's pace momentarily slowed.

Regina peeled the shirt completely off the blonde and tossed it over the side of the bed as Emma fell onto her back again. She sped up her pace to match the previous speed set then placed a hand on the top of Emma's left inner thigh, close to her center. She brought her lips down to Emma's breast and chastely kissed the plump skin.

“Take it off,” Regina purred as she pulled back.

Emma arched her back again and reached around to unhook her bra. She picked at the clasp and, one by one, undid the bra. She pushed the straps off her shoulders and down her arms then tore the bra away from her body.

She couldn't throw it across the room as Regina curled her fingers and pushed deeper into Emma. She moaned and gripped the bra tightly in her fist as she clutched the sheets with her other fist. She threw her arm down on the bed and pressed her wrist into the mattress as the bra threatened to wrap around her hand.

Regina leaned in and licked one of Emma's exposed nipples.

Emma moaned and released her hold on the bra before she grabbed a handful of her own hair.

Regina started to suck on the nipple as she moved her hand on Emma's thigh closer to the gauze. As she gave a rough thrust into Emma, she dug her nails into the sore and recently opened wound.

Emma loudly screamed for several seconds and squeezed her eyes shut. She threw her head back and pushed down on the pillow beneath her. She shot her hand from her hair to Regina's and tried to pull her away. She used her other hand to claw at Regina's left forearm.

Regina's eyes flashed purple as she fought Emma's pull and purple clouds engulfed the room before Henry had time to wake up to the sound of Emma's pain.

Regina's ring, which she'd taken off earlier in the evening, glowed on the nightstand as the smoke started to dissipate, the room successfully sound proofed.

The sparks in Regina's eyes faded as she raked her nails across the gauze and caused the dressing to come off.

Emma couldn't fight the tears that escaped her and streamed down her face. She cried out as she felt a nail dig into one of the cuts on the carved “R” and blood warmed her leg as it flowed down her thigh.

“Look at me,” Regina aggressively demanded that time.

Emma sniffled as she opened her eyes and stared straight into Regina's dark eyes.

“You can stop this any time,” Regina told her as she loosened her grip on Emma's thigh and pulled out of Emma.

She harshly pumped her fingers into Emma once more.

Emma groaned and moved her hand closer to Regina's. She grabbed the brunette's wrist and tried to pull her away from her thigh.

Regina shook her head and chuckled before she started to claw at Emma's half exposed wound.

Emma yelped and turned to her right, breaking eye contact with Regina.

“Give up, dear?”

“No,” Emma choked out.

“You're truly determined, aren't you?”

Regina leaned in and passionately kissed Emma.

Emma didn't kiss back as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Regina broke the kiss and pulled back to see Emma's face. She saw the tears glisten in the moonlight that came in through the bedroom window.

“Lucky for you, we're almost done here,” Regina said before she kissed Emma's cheek.

She caught a salty tear between her lips during the kiss and let go of Emma's thigh.

Emma tried to take a deep breath, but could only manage a few shallow ones as she tried to calm down.

Regina took Emma's hand into her own and laced their fingers. She slowly brought Emma's hand down to the mattress a few inches away from the younger woman's shoulder, the back of the blonde's hand pressed against the sheets.

Regina leaned in and licked Emma's nipple again. She curled her fingers every time she entered Emma and continued to grind against the Sheriff.

Emma started to pant as she tried not to think about the pain in her thigh.

Regina took the hardened nipple between her lips and sucked and nibbled on the reddish pink nub. She let go of Emma's hand and caressed the injured thigh. She got blood on her hand as she removed the gauze completely, out of sight and mind, and pushed Emma's legs further apart by the blonde's left knee.

Regina brushed the pad of her thumb over Emma's swollen clit and moved with Emma as her chest heaved at the feeling.

Regina found Emma's hand again as she finished spreading Emma's legs and sped up her pace.

The amount of pain mixed with pleasure was uneven as Emma felt her thigh throb with every thrust, but she zeroed in on the feeling of Regina's fingers inside of her. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed Regina's mouth on her breast and her walls tightened around slender fingers.

Regina became wet as she felt Emma contract around her fingers and gripped Emma's hand tighter on the mattress. She transferred blood from her hand to Emma's as their fingers squeezed together for a firm touch.

Regina stretched up Emma's body and met the Sheriff's lips with her own in a fevered kiss. She pressed her fully clothed center against Emma's exposed sex and refrained from pulling out of Emma. She stilled her fingers inside the younger woman, buried knuckles deep into her, and moved around inside. She made circular patterns with her thumb over Emma's clit and darted her tongue out to play with Emma's in their kiss.

Emma squeezed Regina's hand and hummed then sighed during her release.

Emma broke their kiss, but allowed their lips to brush against each other as Regina stayed pressed against the blonde while she rode out her orgasm.

Emma melted into the bed as she relaxed her muscles and tried to control her breathing. She looked up at Regina who stared down at her with an unreadable expression.

Regina held Emma's hand then dipped down and kissed Emma again.

“I underestimated you, Miss Swan,” she said after the kiss and rested on her knees between Emma's legs. “I imagine you must be tired, though.”

“I'm fine,” she bitterly said through gritted teeth.

“I won't hold it against you if you're tired. I can't possibly think any less of you.”

“You know, I'm getting tired of you saying shit like that. If you think I'm so worthless, why do you bother fucking me?”

“Simple, dear. You're fun to tear apart.”

Emma scoffed.

“You've never had it so good,” Emma growled in response.

“Even if that were true, you wouldn't have to mean a thing to me.”

“Get off me,” Emma said as she let go of Regina's hand and used her free hand to shove the Mayor away.

Regina didn't let go of Emma's hand and kept it trapped between hers and the bed. She leaned forward and laid on top of Emma, more so than she had previously towered over her, as she fought Emma's fighting hand.

“Get _off_ me!”

“Calm down,” Regina soothingly spoke as Emma wriggled beneath her.

“No! Get off!”

Regina sighed then chastely kissed Emma's sternum.

Emma's breathing became shallow and erratic as she violently jerked under the brunette. She thrashed around to the point of opening her wound even more and yelped.

“Stop,” Regina said as she finally removed her fingers. “You're only hurting yourself.”

“Please,” Emma softly whimpered after a moment. “Please get off.”

“You're begging me?”

Emma nodded with puppy dog eyes.

“I'm not going to hurt you anymore if that's what you're worried about, dear.”

“No. Just...get off. My leg hurts and I'm bleeding and I can't be near you right now.”

Regina sat up on her knees again and let go of Emma's hand.

Emma rolled onto her right side and sat on the edge of the bed for a few seconds before she got up. She took a step toward the master bathroom and cringed at the sharp pain in her thigh. She clenched her fist and hissed before she slowly limped to the bathroom.

Regina watched Emma struggle, but nonetheless prevail, as she went into the bathroom. She sighed and rolled off her knees to sit on the bed. She peeled off her shirt then got out of the bed. She walked to her dresser and pulled out a silk pajama top. She tossed it onto the bed and searched for a pair of clean underwear and sleep pants.

She grabbed a pair of half-cheek panties that barely concealed her backside and a pair of silk shorts that stopped mid-thigh. She placed them on the bed next to the top she'd picked out then stripped down to only her bra.

Emma turned on the bath and sat on the edge of it, her feet in the tub. She put her hand under the warm water and collected a handful of water before she slowly poured it onto her wound.

She grimaced as a strangled groan escaped her, but she continued to pour the water onto her thigh over and over to clean it. After the blood started to clot a bit, she grabbed the towel from earlier that she'd used to clean up with and dried off.

Regina slipped into her comfortable sleepwear and looked over at the door to the bathroom, slightly open as it had been earlier when Emma cleaned up after Twister, and listened to the running water for a short while. After nearly thirty seconds, she opened the bedroom door and went downstairs to check on the laundry.

Regina crossed the threshold from the kitchen into the laundry room and the brunette immediately pulled open the dryer door, the machine quiet in its idle state.

She removed the clothes and dropped them into a basket before she dug out Emma's underwear. She held them in one hand and searched through the pile of clothes for a loose shirt. She didn't have many in her possession, but she had a few from a time when Henry kept her up most hours of the night and her elegant wardrobe started to suffocate her.

She pulled out a black T-shirt, the soft cotton more than welcoming, and draped it over her arm before she closed the dryer. She lifted the basket with her free hand and set it on top of the machine then headed back upstairs.

Regina walked into the bedroom and still heard water running. She frowned and headed into the bathroom with the clothes in hand. She looked down at Emma as she held a bloody towel in her lap as the wound continued to bleed.

“Is everything okay,” Regina asked as she set the clothes down on the counter by the sink.

Emma shook her head.

“I thought it stopped, but...the blood isn't clotting.”

“Here,” Regina said as she came up behind Emma and knelt in front of the bath.

She took the towel from Emma, the younger woman's back to her as she tried to help. She tossed the towel over her shoulder and placed her right hand under the water. When she had a handful, she carefully poured it onto Emma's thigh.

Emma gripped the edge of the bath and tensed.

“It's okay,” Regina soothingly said before she placed a chaste kiss on Emma's back.

Emma slowly relaxed.

Regina shifted to get a better look at Emma's thigh and grabbed the towel from her shoulder.

“Lift your arm,” Regina gently commanded.

Emma did what Regina said and raised her arm. She brought it behind Regina's head and draped it over the Mayor's shoulders. She turned her body slightly to make herself more comfortable in her new position and gave Regina a better view of her leg.

Regina leaned in and slowly, gently pressed the towel onto the “R”.

Emma gripped Regina's shoulder and unintentionally brought the brunette's face close to her bare chest.

Regina looked to her right to see Emma's naked form and focused on the Sheriff's side. She kissed Emma's ribs and felt her relax into the kiss. She reached around Emma and slowly ran her fingertips up and down Emma's uninjured thigh.

Emma shivered and sighed as she tilted her head back.

“Good girl,” Regina barely said above a whisper before she kissed Emma's front, not too far below Emma's right breast as she pressed down a little harder on the wound.

Emma hardly felt it as Regina ran her tongue across her upper torso.

Regina pulled away from Emma after a moment and brought her other hand to the towel on Emma's thigh. She lifted it and inspected the red mark. The blood had mostly clotted, the bleeding no longer much of a problem. She stood with the towel in her hand and turned toward the sink. She went into the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Ibuprofen then took the gauze out of a nearby drawer. 

She turned back to Emma and set the Ibuprofen down next to her on the edge of the bath.

“Turn around,” Regina said.

Emma slowly turned and set her feet down on the mat that lay on the floor in front of the tub, her feet slightly wet from the water in the bath.

“Why are you helping me?”

“I underestimated you,” Regina replied as she knelt in front of Emma, between the Sheriff's legs.

“You said that before. That doesn't tell me why you're being so nice.”

“Not many people prove me wrong. I think you deserve a little pampering after what I put you through.”

“So...you're rewarding me for not giving up,” Emma asked with clear confusion.

Regina smiled and softly chortled as she started to dress Emma's wound.

“I guess that's one way of putting it. I'm commending you on your stamina. I could always stop if you don't want me to help.”

“No.”

“No you don't want my help,” Regina asked as she looked up at Emma and stopped wrapping the fresh gauze around her thigh.

“No,” Emma shook her head then corrected the Mayor. “No, don't _stop_.”

Regina smiled as she looked down at Emma's thigh and continued to wrap the gauze around the wound.

“Thank you,” Emma said after a moment.

“Don't thank me. I'm the one that did this to you, remember?”

“I asked for it. You said so yourself. Anything that happened after I accepted your little challenge was my fault.”

“You actually listen to me?”

“Maybe. Doesn't everyone in this town?”

“Yes, but you're not them. You've never done what I wanted. You always push me and try to prove me wrong. It's like you have a score to settle with me. No one else fights back, especially not like you.”

“Well, if it means that much to you, maybe I'll listen to you all the time.”

Regina laughed.

“I like things just the way they are between us, Miss Swan. Feel free to listen to me even less than you do now.”

“I find that kind of hard to believe,” Emma said as she cupped Regina's cheek and caused the brunette to look up at her.

“You don't know me. You don't know what I want.”

“You can be as bitter and hurtful as you'd like, but I do know you. I've got this superpower and I can tell when people are lying.”

“Are you suggesting I've lied to you?”

“No, although I'm sure have, but I bet you're about to.”

Regina looked quizzically at Emma.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“Leave Storybrooke?”

“Leave here. Now. You've fixed up my leg, we've had dinner. I've more than overstayed my welcome for the evening. Do you want me to go?”

Regina looked deep into Emma's green eyes as she tried to find her voice.

“You're right,” Regina firmly started. “You have overstayed your welcome, haven't you. Yes, I want you to go.”

Regina stood and broke eye contact as she said the last five words.

Emma smirked up at Regina and after a few seconds, brown eyes met green again.

“You lied.”

“Excuse me? You should leave now before I do much worse to your leg,” she said as she shifted her focus from Emma to various points in the room.

Emma shook her head.

“No. I'm not leaving until you look me in the eyes and tell me to leave.”

Regina looked straight at Emma and took a few deep breaths before she slowly spoke.

“I want you to...” Regina trailed off.

Emma stood staring up at the Mayor. She did nothing, didn't move, didn't speak as she waited for Regina to finish her sentence.

“I want you to...” she spoke faster that time, but trailed off again before she looked away. “Leave!”

“You can't say it, can you,” Emma asked as she stood up. “You can't look at me and say what you _should_ be saying, but you can't even admit to yourself what you _want_ to say.”

Regina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and looked at Emma once again.

“Stay,” she firmly blurted.

Emma parted her lips and curled them into a small, satisfied smile.

“There it is. The truth,” Emma said as she stepped closer to Regina.

“That doesn't change anything.”

Emma slowly nodded and closed the space between them.

“Okay. Nothing changes.”

Emma leaned in and kissed Regina.

Regina dropped the gauze to the floor and placed her hands on Emma's hips.

Emma backed Regina against the counter and slid her tongue between the Mayor's parted lips.

“I still owe you an orgasm,” Emma said between kisses as she attacked Regina's lips. “In fact...”

She trailed off to give Regina another kiss.

“I owe you two.”

Emma ran her hand down Regina's front and grazed the brunette's breast through the silk shirt she wore.

Regina hummed into the next kiss.

Emma brought both hands down to Regina's hips and lifted her. She slid Regina onto the counter and positioned herself between the Mayor's legs before she kissed her again.

Emma hooked her fingers into the band of Regina's shorts and panties and simultaneously pulled them down her thighs.

Regina placed her palms flat against the counter and lifted her backside off it to help Emma remove the clothing. Happy to get rid of them before she had to change her underwear for a second time that night, she lowered herself onto the cold counter with a whimper when Emma let the clothes fall to the floor.

Emma touched her fingertips to the upper part of Regina's torso and trailed her hand down to the Mayor's center.

Regina moaned when Emma pressed her fingertips against her clit and spread her legs. She rested the heels of her feet on the edge of the counter and placed a hand over Emma's traveling hand. She guided Emma further down her folds as she became wet and gripped two of Emma's fingers before inserting them into herself.

Emma continued to kiss Regina as she allowed the woman to guide her and grinned when Regina moaned and slid two fingers inside herself.

Regina dropped her jaw and pulled away from the kiss as she reveled in the feeling of Emma inside her at her her own request. She moved her hand from the base of Emma's fingers to the blonde's wrist and slowly, teasingly worked the fingers in and out of her herself.

Emma grabbed a fistful of Regina's hair and pulled her in for another kiss.

“You're so sexy right now,” Emma whispered against Regina's lips after she ended the kiss, but didn't pull back.

Regina's breathing became shallow as she pumped Emma's fingers in and out.

“F-f-fuck,” Regina sputtered as she quickened the pace and Emma rubbed circles over Regina's clit.

“Careful, Regina, you're starting to sound like me,” Emma smirked as she lowered her mouth to Regina's neck.

She kissed Regina's neck from just under her earlobe down to her collarbone, occasionally licking the hot skin, before she nipped at Regina's pulse point.

“More,” Regina desperately demanded.

Emma added a finger and quickened the pace as Regina's hand started to loosen around her wrist.

Regina threw her head back and eased it against the wall beside the mirror.

Emma pulled away from Regina's neck to take in the sight of the Mayor spread out for her, eyes closed and breathing erratic.

Emma licked her lips then bit her bottom lip as Regina made her extremely wet.

“Look at me,” Emma panted as she kindly repeated Regina's earlier words.

Both women knew Emma wasn't being forceful. It was more of a friendly request than a command, but Regina still wasted no time doing what the younger woman wanted.

Emma applied more pressure to Regina's clit as she slowed her circular motion.

Regina looked straight into green eyes and suddenly, Emma recognized a softness in them.

For a moment, Emma could have sworn she saw a pleading look in brown orbs as Regina stared at her, but the look was masked heavily by the harshness of Regina's heart. Emma then realized how guarded Regina was and slowly started to understand little things about the brunette's behavior.

Unbelievably so, Emma could see Regina wearing down, her protective walls thinning the more time she spent with the older woman.

Emma gripped Regina's backside with her free hand and pulled her closer to the edge of the counter. She placed her palm on the underside of Regina's right knee and set it on her shoulder.

“Other leg,” Emma asked.

Regina quickly rested the back of her other knee on Emma's bare shoulder and arched her back as she felt Emma curl her fingers against her walls.

Regina flexed the muscles in her thighs and squeezed Emma's shoulders with the backs of her knees.

“Oh, god!”

Regina closed her eyes again and Emma felt the warmth grow between her legs.

“Regina,” Emma mumbled as she gripped the edge of the counter and looked down at Regina's lower abdomen as she thrust harder into Regina.

“So...close,” Regina whispered as her walls tightened around Emma's fingers.

“Fuck,” Emma moaned as she closed her eyes and sped up her pace. “Regina!”

Regina opened her eyes and looked at Emma when she heard the woman call her name.

She throatily chuckled at the sight of Emma.

“You need me,” she said as she let go of Emma's wrist completely and bit her lip as she leaned forward and dropped her left leg to Emma's right side.

She cupped Emma's wet center then massaged it for a few seconds.

Emma slowed her pace as Regina continued to tease her.

Regina panted with a smile as she rested her forehead against Emma's.

“So impatient,” Regina said as she slipped three fingers into the Sheriff.

Emma moaned and brought her pace back to its previous speed. She curled her fingers against a different spot inside Regina and the brunette gasped.

“Right there,” Regina moaned. “Harder.”

Emma thrust her fingers in deeper to oblige Regina and the Mayor rewarded her by speeding up her pace.

“God, yes,” Emma exclaimed as she threw a leg over top of the counter, under Regina's leg like they were playing their own version of Twister.

She hooked her ankle into the sink for leverage and opened her eyes. She stared directly at Regina as the brunette squeezed her shoulders again.

The two of them were curled toward each other as Emma turned her head and bit down on Regina's lower inner thigh, close to her right knee.

Regina groaned into Emma's hair as she rested her forehead on Emma's free shoulder.

Emma continued to push Regina's boundaries as she forced her fingers deeper into her. She ran her thumb over Regina's swollen clit as her walls tightened around Regina's fingers and scraped her nail over the sensitive bundle of nerves.

She eased up on her bite and licked the mark she left as Regina moaned loudly and came undone.

Normally, the Mayor didn't make much noise. She was able to conceal her pleasure extremely well until that night. Emma enjoyed it all the same.

Regina panted against Emma's shoulder and gave a good, rough thrust into Emma to finish her off.

“F-f-f-u-u-u-ck,” Emma moaned as she placed her forehead on Regina's thigh and let go.

She panted as she brought her leg down from the counter.

Regina slowly removed her fingers and, after a moment, Emma remembered she still had hers inside Regina.

Emma started to pull out when Regina stopped her.

“Don't,” she warned as she pulled away from Emma's shoulder and brought her other leg down to Emma's side, careful not to touch her bandaged leg. “Not done.”

Emma bit her lip as Regina leaned back against the wall. She bent her fingers inside Regina as she curled and uncurled them against the Mayor's walls.

Regina bit her bottom lip and let out a soft moan.

Emma bent over at the waist and leaned in. She slowly ran her tongue over Regina's clit then sucked on the bundle of nerves. Emma teased her as she slowly started to remove her fingers then slid them back in when Regina's breath hitched.

Regina came undone a second time and sighed as Emma removed her fingers. She licked her lips and took a minute to come down from her high before she opened her eyes.

Emma licked the length of Regina's center and lapped up the remnants of Regina's release before she looked up at Regina.

Regina leaned in and kissed away the small mess left on Emma's chin as she tasted herself. She brought her lips to Emma's and sweetly kissed her.

“You've definitely got to be tired now,” Regina said as she rested her forehead against Emma's again.

Emma breathlessly chuckled.

“Yeah,” Emma answered.

“Shower?”

“Join me?”

Regina placed her hands on Emma's shoulders and pushed her away from the counter as she started to control her breathing. She slid off the counter then peeled off her shirt.

Emma smiled and closed the space between them. She reached around Regina and unhooked her bra.

When the bra hit the floor, Regina took Emma's hand and laced their fingers as she pulled Emma along with her to the shower.

Regina started the water then felt Emma tug her back. She looked over her shoulder at Emma before the blonde let go of her hand and started to pick at the gauze.

Regina bent over and helped her unwrap it.

“Sorry to waste your gauze.”

Regina shook her head.

“Not a waste.”

Emma stopped and looked down at Regina. She wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly, but what she understood from the brunette's statement was that being with her was worth using up all the gauze.

“You okay,” Regina asked as she stopped.

Emma smiled and nodded as she resumed her work on the gauze.

Regina waited a few seconds before she went back to helping Emma out of it.

“This is probably going to hurt,” Regina warned as she took both of Emma's hands, the gauze forgotten on the floor in front of the shower.

Regina started to back into the shower as Emma stepped forward to follow her.

“I know,” Emma said as she took her first step into the shower.

The water flowed down Regina's back as steam started to rise from her skin. A few droplets sprung off her shoulders and sprinkled Emma's chest.

Regina slowly pulled Emma toward her and minimized the space between them. Water started to hit Emma's thigh as Regina walked further underneath the shower head. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to sting Emma as the tips of Regina's hair got wet.

Regina tipped her head back and soaked her hair as she wrapped an arm around Emma's waist. She used the other hand to flip her hair around and make sure she wet all of it.

Emma slipped her right leg between Regina's thighs as the two stood almost flush against each other.

Regina hummed and wrapped her other arm around Emma's waist as she met the blonde's gaze again.

More water hit Emma's thigh and she instinctively clawed Regina's hip and lower back to keep from hissing or groaning.

Regina turned them so her left side and Emma's right side were hit with the water.

Emma relaxed as the stinging in her thigh faded.

“Thank you,” she said as she removed her nails from Regina.

Regina nodded then let go of Emma. She turned and grabbed a bottle of shampoo. She grabbed Emma's wrist and turned her hand over, palm up, before she squeezed out a good amount of shampoo. She let go of Emma's wrist to give herself some shampoo as Emma started to lather her hair.

Regina did the same after she put the shampoo back in its proper place then turned when Emma was ready to rinse.

Emma turned her back to the shower head and tipped her head back as she rinsed out her long hair.

The scent of apples filled the air and Emma tried not to smile.

Regina noticed the subtle smile on Emma's lips and mirrored the expression.

Emma stepped away from the shower head and spun the them around before she nudged Regina under the warm water.

Regina quickly rinsed out her hair then grabbed her apple scented body wash. She squeezed out a near handful then set the body wash down. She rubbed her hands together to spread out the wash then ran her hands down Emma's arms. Once her arms were soapy, Regina came back up and ran her hands over Emma's chest. She felt up Emma's breasts as she applied the body wash and watched Emma close her eyes.

The blonde parted her lips and waited a few seconds before she slowly opened her eyes and looked at Regina again.

Regina grinned then roamed over Emma's stomach. She covered Emma in the body wash, careful of the mark she'd left on the blonde's left thigh, and placed Emma under the shower head. She ran her hands over every inch of Emma's body as she helped rinse off the body wash.

Emma tensed as the water hit her thigh.

Regina hurried to get Emma away from the water then filled the Sheriff's hand with the body wash.

Emma rubbed her hands together like Regina had then started at the brunette's collarbone. She moved her hands from Regina's sternum to her arms then over the rest of Regina's chest. She took her time as her hands slid up and down Regina's breasts. She smirked as Regina bit her lip and grinned.

“You started it,” Emma said.

“I'm glad I did,” Regina confessed in a sultry tone.

By the time Emma reached Regina's legs, she struggled to crouch down, but did the best she could to apply the body wash to every part of her.

Regina helped as she raised her legs when needed then rinsed off.

Emma rubbed her hands down Regina's front slowly as the water cleared away the body wash. It was the only thing she could do without hurting herself and she gave her all.

Regina arched her back to press her breasts into Emma's touch as the blonde ran her hands all over slippery skin. When she was clean, Regina leaned in and kissed Emma before she turned off the shower.

She kissed Emma again as she pushed Emma backward toward the shower door.

Emma's back collided with the door and Regina deepened the kiss as she slid a knee between the Sheriff's legs.

Emma hummed into their last kiss before Regina slowly pulled back.

Regina wrapped a hand around Emma's waist and brought them flush against each other. She opened the shower door and relaxed her arm before she took her first step out of the shower.

“I brought you something to sleep in,” Regina said as she spun Emma around and guided her to the counter.

Emma smiled as she saw her underwear peek out from under the black shirt.

“Thanks,” Emma said as she picked the panties out of the shirt's lazy hold on them.

Regina took a step back as she allowed Emma to slip into her underwear then closed the space between them again. She reached over and grabbed the shirt off the counter.

“Arms,” Regina said.

Emma raised her arms high enough to slip into the shirt sleeves then lifted them above her head.

Regina pulled the shirt down her muscled body and let go when the shirt flowed around the Sheriff's hips.

“This shirt is so comfy,” Emma said as she twisted the fabric between her fingers.

Regina chuckled and made her way over to her fallen clothes. She simultaneously slid into her underwear and silk shorts as they had been removed then debated wearing a bra to sleep as originally planned. She decided to forgo the bra and pulled on her silk shirt when Emma sidled up next to her.

Regina faced Emma and looked down at the younger woman's thigh. She scanned the bathroom floor for the gauze she knew she'd dropped near the bath. She spotted it a few inches from her foot and bent down to grab it.

She swept it off the floor and took Emma's hand in her free hand. She guided Emma back to the edge of the bath and gently pushed her down to sit on it.

Regina knelt in front of Emma and dressed the wound again, quicker than the last time. When she finished, she held out her hand to Emma and the blonde took it. Once Emma stood, Regina let go of her hand and put the gauze back where it belonged. She looked over her shoulder as she headed toward the bedroom and watched Emma follow her.

Emma started to move toward the bedroom door when Regina peeled off the bloody comforter and stopped her.

“There's a clean one in the linen closet,” Regina informed her as she folded the comforter a couple times then draped it over her arm. “Will you get it off the third shelf while I take this to the laundry room?”

Emma eyed Regina and the stained comforter.

“Okay,” she agreed then followed Regina into the hall.

Regina continued down the stairs while Emma reached up and grabbed the clean comforter.

Emma noted it was white. The pattern on it was different than the one Regina had taken with her, but it still matched all the neutral colors throughout the house.

Emma smiled and shook her head as she held the comforter to her. She closed the linen closet and went back into Regina's room. She laid it out over the bed and adjusted it as needed.

Regina sprayed the bloodied part of the comforter with stain remover after she ran it under hot water. She tossed it into the washing machine and started up a new spin cycle. She let the machine rumble a few times to make sure it started before she went back upstairs.

As she crossed the kitchen, she checked the time on the microwave. She would be up to help Henry get ready for school in less than six hours. She ascended the stairs as she started to feel exhaustion creep up on her. She ran a hand through her short hair as she reached the top of the stairs.

She walked into her room and instantly noticed Emma curled up under the covers, eyes closed. She stopped and leaned against the door frame.

“Couldn't make it to the guest room, Miss Swan,” she asked.

“Mm-mm,” Emma answered as she kept her eyes closed and kept perfectly still in the bed.

Regina pushed off the door frame and closed the door behind her as she walked further into the room. She moved around to the far side of the bed and got under the covers with Emma.

“You better give a good massage tomorrow. You're sleeping on my side of the bed,” Regina said as she turned her back to Emma.

“Best massage of your life,” Emma sleepily mumbled.

Regina grinned at Emma's words and closed her eyes.

Emma fell asleep moments before Regina relaxed and drifted off to sleep herself, the two of them worlds apart as they lay with their backs to each other.

 


	14. Chapter 14

Regina's alarm clock beeped loudly in her ear as the morning sunlight filled her room. She took in a deep breath as she squeezed her eyes shut tighter then slowly opened them as she exhaled. She propped herself up on her right elbow, her left arm draped over a warm body that subtly moved beneath her.

Regina looked quizzically at the person in front of her and, in her sleepy haze, recognized long blonde locks. She looked over Emma from head to toe as the woman slept peacefully through the blaring alarm.

Her chest rose and fell at a calm, steady pace under Regina's arm, her right arm tucked under her head while her body curled inward as if to protect herself.

Regina took in the proximity of their bodies, her head almost directly above Emma's as she rested on her elbow. If she were to lay down, her nose would touch the back of Emma's neck. She tried to move her left knee, but it was trapped between Emma's bare legs under the sheets.

Emma's left hand rested on Regina's as her arm kept Regina's arm draped over her side.

Her breasts were pressed up against Emma's back and the alarm continued to screech.

Regina shook her head and tried to get out of Emma's hold. She slowly slipped her arm out from between Emma's ribs and the Sheriff's left arm. She waited to make sure Emma didn't stir before she did the same thing with her leg then carefully reached over the younger woman and turned off the alarm.

She got out of bed and went straight to her walk-in closet as though it were a normal day, one that didn't involve waking up next to Emma Swan let alone wake up spooning her.

She picked out an outfit for work and changed in the room while Emma continued to sleep. Once dressed, she left the room and shut the door behind her before she checked on Henry.

The boy struggled to get out of bed, still sleepy as he rubbed his eyes and groaned.

“Are you getting up,” Regina asked as she remained in the doorway.

He nodded.

“What's for breakfast?”

Regina looked at Henry's unused alarm clock for the time before she could give him an answer.

“I'm about to make some eggs. You want them spicy or plain?”

“Mm, plain.”

“Okay. If you're not dressed in five minutes, I'm throwing you in a cold shower.”

“Mhmm,” Henry sleepily nodded.

“If you're _downstairs_ in five minutes, I'll make bacon.”

Though he couldn't hide the sleep in his eyes, Henry's head shot up as he looked hopefully at his mother.

“Really?”

“Yes. Now get dressed and brush your teeth or no bacon.”

Henry stood as Regina turned and headed down the hallway toward the stairs. She left her bedroom door shut and didn't check on Emma before she made her way to the kitchen.

She cracked five eggs into a bowl, added milk, and whisked them with a fork.

She heated up the stove then switched the comforter from the washer to the dryer. She returned to the stove and grabbed a pan. She sprayed it with cooking spray then placed it on the heated portion of the stove. She poured the eggs into the pan then put the dirty bowl in the sink. She ran the water until it filled most of the bowl and let it soak as she turned to the pantry and pulled out a loaf of bread.

She filled up the four-slice toaster and pushed down the lever to start it up. She went back to the stove and redirected her focus onto the eggs. She took out a spatula and started to flip the eggs when she heard someone enter the kitchen.

“Do I get my bacon now,” Henry asked when Regina turned to look at him.

Regina smiled.

“Soon,” she told him. “Is your bag packed?”

He nodded.

“It's in the living room. Can I watch TV while I wait for breakfast?”

“Just this once, okay?”

“Thanks,” Henry beamed before he came around the island and gave Regina a hug.

Regina moved the spatula from her right hand to her left and hugged Henry back with her free arm.

He pulled away and scurried into the living room. He quickly turned on the TV and saw Emma's movies on the coffee table.

“Why are Emma's movies still here,” he asked Regina.

“She...forgot to grab them on her way out last night,” Regina quickly lied.

“Can I watch one?”

“As long as you don't scratch the disk,” Regina answered. “And only part of it. You won't be able to finish it before school.”

“I know,” he answered as he popped a disk out of its case and put it in the DVD player.

Regina watched him as he navigated through the menu and pressed play.

His features were soft as he trained his eyes on the screen. He seemed different, more appreciative and loving of her. It was almost as if Emma's presence, though he wasn't aware of it, made it easier for him and Regina to get along, live like they used to when he was younger and less interested in that book of fairytales she'd seen him with a few times.

Regina continued to make breakfast as she flipped the eggs a few more times then slid them off to the side when done. She pulled out another pan and grabbed a packet of bacon out of the refrigerator. She worked on the bacon and put the toast on a big plate she left covered in the center of the island. After a few minutes, she prepared a plate just for Henry with toast and eggs as the bacon started to sizzle.

The smell of it filled the first floor of the house and Henry occasionally looked into the kitchen from his place on the couch to see if the bacon was finished.

Regina put two bacon strips on Henry's plate and within seconds, the boy came up to the island to collect it.

“Can I eat it on the couch while I watch the movie?”

“I don't think so. You can see the TV from the dining room. Eat at the table please.”

Henry frowned, but took his plate to the table. He sat at the far end of the table and moved it toward the far wall so he didn't have to crane his neck to watch the movie.

Regina shook her head with a small smile as she watched him then started to wash the dishes she'd used to make breakfast.

Upstairs, Emma rolled onto her left side to warm herself up from the lack of body heat she'd felt earlier in her sleep, though she hadn't known it to be body heat. She turned to the side of the bed Regina had slept in and opened her eyes with a look of confusion.

She slowly sat up and ran a hand through her hair as she looked down at the empty bed. The mattress and sheets felt as nice as the guest room, but she knew she wasn't in the guest room. She looked to the master bathroom and folded her knees to her chest. She hissed when she felt a tug at her injured thigh and directed her attention to the gauze.

Blood had formed under the dressing, but none of it had seeped onto the bed.

She sighed and rested an elbow on her right knee as she balled a fist around a portion of blonde locks. She pressed her forehead into the heel of her palm and kept her other hand on the empty side of the bed.

She suddenly smelled bacon waft through the room and checked the alarm clock to her right on the nightstand.

_7:23am._

She knew Henry and Regina would up by now. She slowly got out of bed and shuffled toward the bathroom to pick up her abandoned clothes, or rather Regina's abandoned clothes.

She slid into the borrowed sweatpants and pulled on her own shirt from the previous night then looked at her appearance in the bathroom mirror. She flipped her hair around and messed with the unruly curls for about a minute before she felt presentable then searched Regina's drawers for make up.

She looked pale and tired. She didn't do much primping, not like the owner of the house she was in, but she didn't like to look drained. Whenever she did, she got questioned by people she saw on a regular basis as well as sized up by those that recognized a vulnerability to her.

She found a make up bag and unzipped it before she rummaged through it for eyeliner and mascara. She found both as well as concealer, though she knew the color wouldn't match her complexion.

She frowned before she pulled out the eyeliner and applied it until her eyes looked dark enough to mask most of her deflated looks. She then swiped the mascara over her lashes a couple times before she dropped it back into the bag. She stared at the dark circles under her eyes then down at the concealer in the make up bag. After a few seconds, she grabbed it and dabbed a small portion under both eyes.

She spread it out over the circles then took a bit of toilet paper and held it under the sink. She wet the toilet paper at the corner then brought it to her eyes as she wiped at the concealer to lighten the shade. She didn't know much about make up, but hoped what she tried would help match her skin tone.

It didn't do much and eventually, Emma gave up. She tossed the toilet paper in the trash and looked in the drawer for make up remover. She lifted a cream from the drawer that read, “make up remover” under the largely printed brand name and applied it under her eyes to get rid of the concealer.

She sighed as she took in her final appearance then put everything back in the drawer before she closed it. She turned and left the bathroom to sit on the bed. She didn't think it would be smart to go downstairs in case Henry spotted her. The kid would have plenty of questions if he saw her in the house, dressed in the same clothes from the night before, and she wasn't ready to tell him anything. She didn't think she ever would be ready to tell him.

It wasn't like she was getting involved with his mother in a way that really effect him. They weren't dating. It was only sex. Wild, rough, passionate sex. Henry never needed to know. It would only confuse him and it wasn't like the two of them were going to romantically get together or get engaged or anything that would make them more of a solidified family.

As far as Emma could tell, the only way she was going to be a part of their family was through biology. She would still be Henry's mother, but so would Regina, and she'd fall under the category of the cool aunt while Regina disciplined and provided for him.

Regina had vocalized what she wanted from her. She didn't want things to change between them so they wouldn't. She would still be Regina's late night hook up that had to make deals with the Mayor just for visitation rights.

Emma didn't mind. She saw it as a win-win opportunity. She got to have mind-blowing sex with a strong, independent woman while being able to see her son that she unfortunately didn't get to raise. Regina made their time together worth every last tear shed and she made sure to repay the brunette for satisfying her needs beyond her own expectations.

Emma fell onto her back and hit the bed with a sigh. She stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before she remembered she had Regina's cell phone number. She smiled and sat up before she searched for her phone. When she found it, she quickly composed a message to the older woman.

In the kitchen, Regina finished cleaning the last dish and set it in the dish washer before her phone vibrated in the pocket of her blazer.

She furrowed her brow and dried off her hands before she pulled it out. The screen informed her she had one new message from _Emma._

She had been tempted to save the woman's number under  _Miss Swan_ or  _Annoying Blonde_ or even  _Disposable Sex Toy_ , but she decided to just use the woman's first name, though she'd never call her by it.

She opened the message and read.

“ _There's bacon?”_

Regina chuckled to herself with a grin before she hit “Reply” and started typing.

“ _Yes, but you can't have any.”_

She pressed “Send” then slipped her phone back into her pocket. She walked into the laundry room and, just before she grabbed the basket of clean clothes, her phone vibrated with a new message from the blonde.

“ _Why not?”_

“ _Henry's still here. You can come down and have some when I take him to school.”_

“ _But if you take him to school, you'll go straight to work after you drop him off.”_

“ _Your point, Miss Swan?”_

“ _We could eat breakfast together.”_

“ _Henry can't know you're here.”_

“ _Not him and me. YOU and me.”_

Regina hesitated before she came up with a response.

“ _Nothing changes, remember? We won't be sharing any meals.”_

“ _We've shared dinner two nights in a row. Why can't we share breakfast?”_

“ _You don't have to have breakfast here at all. Keep pushing and I'll make sure you go to work hungry.”_

“ _You really don't want to eat with me?”_

“ _No.”_

“ _I still owe you an orgasm. All you have to do is take Henry to school and come back here before work. I'd happy to give one to you.”_

Regina bit her bottom lip.

“ _You can repay me later. You'll eat breakfast alone.”_

“ _Fine. Can I at least leave out the front door today?”_

“ _There's a spare key to the house in the bowl on the end table in the foyer. If you can remember to lock up when you leave, you can use the front door.”_

“ _You're giving me a spare key? Why, Madame Mayor, I'm surprised.”_

“ _Don't forget you owe me a massage. I'll take that key off your hands then.”_

“ _I don't think so.”_

“ _Excuse me?”_

“ _If you give me this key, I want to keep it. Never know what I might need it for in the future.”_

“ _You're not keeping it.”_

“ _Tell you what. I'll earn it.”_

“ _How so?”_

“ _Today. If it's not the best massage you've ever had, I'll give you back the key. If I impress you, I get to keep it.”_

“ _Fine, but IF you impress me, you will only use that key when I tell you.”_

“ _Fine. When are you leaving? I'm starving.”_

Regina rolled her eyes and slipped her phone back into her pocket without sending a response. She grabbed the basket of clean clothes and brought them into the living room. She set it on the arm of the couch and looked from Henry to the TV.

Cartoon lions raced and chased each other on the screen.

She looked down at the DVR box and checked the time. Her eyes widened as she scanned over the digital read out.

_7:49am._

“Time to go,” Regina said as she set the basket on the couch cushion closest to her. “We're going to be late.”

Henry frowned.

“But I haven't finished breakfast.”

“Take it with you,” Regina said as she messed with her hair on her way back to the kitchen.

She grabbed a plastic sandwich bag and brown paper bag along with a plastic fork she dumped into the paper bag. She internally berated herself for what she was about to do with his food, not very sophisticated and more like something Emma would do, as she walked back to her son.

Henry threw on his backpack and adjusted the straps then questioningly looked at the brunette as she approached him.

Regina grabbed the fork from his plate and scraped the remaining food into the sandwich bag.

“What are you doing?”

“Eat it like dry cereal, but don't use your hands. If I had more time, I would've packed this up better, but we've got to get out of here now. This is the best I can do. I'm sorry.”

“It's okay. Not everything has to be _perfect,_ Mom,” Henry reassured her as sealed the sandwich bag.

 _First the artery clogging bacon and now an entire meal shuffled into a sandwich bag? What is wrong with me_ , Regina thought as she placed the sandwich bag into the paper bag and handed it to Henry.

“You know, I kinda like this side of you,” Henry gave a small smile as he looked up at her.

Regina forced a smile though she was still trying to process her internal conflict.

“Come on. You've a got a test today, right,” Regina asked as she nudged him toward the front door.

“Yeah. History,” Henry said as he made a disgusted face.

“Did you study?”

“I looked over the worksheets.”

Regina rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse and keys on the way out.

“You didn't study.”

“Well, with Emma over I-”

“Just because Emma's around doesn't mean you shouldn't study.”

“I'll get an A. I promise. I've got it covered.”

“You'd better or maybe I'll limit your visits with Miss Swan,” she said as she lead him out onto the porch.

“No!”

Henry didn't stop walking toward the Mercedes, but he looked up at Regina with wide, worried eyes.

“You can't! We have a deal,” he said.

“Whatever deal you have with her will not keep me from doing what is best for you.”

Henry sighed. He didn't want to tell her the deal. It was something he liked to keep between him and his birth mother. He liked having secrets with her. It made their bond that much more special in his mind.

“I'll get an A,” he softly said as he looked down at the ground with a frown.

He hoped he'd get an A and, at that point, he had two reasons to earn it.

Regina opened the door to the backseat for Henry and he climbed in as he slid his backpack off his shoulders. When he was in the car completely, Regina shut the door and opened hers. She looked up at her bedroom window and noticed Emma standing in front of it, staring down at her.

Regina kept her expression stoic as she stared at Emma for a few more seconds then got in the Mercedes. She started the engine and didn't bother to look up at Emma again as she backed out of the driveway.

Once they reached the street, Henry noticed the yellow bug parked beside the curb and furrowed his brow, bewildered.

“Why is Emma's car still here,” he asked as Regina was about to put the car in Drive.

She looked out Henry's window and realized she'd stopped next to the beat up vehicle. She parted her lips as her jaw dropped.

“She must have had car troubles and decided to walk home,” she lied.

“Why wouldn't she just ask for a ride,” Henry asked, still curious and not buying into his mother's lie.

“That woman doesn't like to ask for help. She's too prideful. She could probably be dying some horrific death and she wouldn't tell you she was in pain.”

Henry scrunched up his face, displeased with the example Regina had used.

Regina caught the look and sighed.

“I'm sorry. She probably didn't want me to know she as having issues. If she had, I would've held it against her for a while.”

“So...she walked all the way across town because she didn't want you to pick on her.”

Henry stared Regina down like her answer would determine whether he would talk to her in the next few days or not.

Regina looked him over and knew she had to protect their secret at all costs. If not for her sake then for Henry's. The boy wouldn't understand and it would only confuse him if she tried to explain the adult matter.

“Yeah.”

“You're a bully,” Henry bitterly said. “Everyone should just stay away from you.”

Regina tried to hide the hurt that flashed in her eyes at her son's stinging words. She took a deep breath and composed herself quickly before she turned to the road in front of her. She put the Benz in Drive and eased off the brake.

“Yes, I suppose they should,” she flatly, softly replied as she made her way down Mifflin Street.

Emma waited until she saw the Mercedes disappear from view as Regina drove down the street. When she thought they wouldn't return, she headed downstairs.

She went straight into the kitchen and noticed a couple plates covered on top of the island. She lifted their plastic covers and saw eggs under one, bacon under the other. She smiled down at the food and turned to where Regina kept the plates. All of them had been used.

She sighed and turned back to the food on the counter. She shrugged and grabbed a fork from one of the drawers she remembered Henry pointing out to her. She placed it on the plate of eggs and grabbed the last three pieces of bacon from the other plate. She tossed the bacon onto the plate of eggs and carried it into the living room.

She sat on the couch as the Lion King continued to play. She smiled, knowing Henry must have put it in before school. She sat Indian style on the couch, not far from the basket of clothes, and watched the movie from where Henry had left off as she ate.

After ten minutes, she set the plate down on the coffee table on top of Henry's forgotten plate and sighed as she pulled her hand back and laid them in her lap. She looked to her left and studied the basket of clean clothes for a moment as the movie played in the background.

She brought her knees to her chest as she started to feel the strain in her injured thigh then reached over and started to fold the clothes. She used her knees to fold the clothes on then set them on the cushion to her right when finished. She stacked them up until the basket was empty then transferred all the folded clothes back into the basket.

Being Emma, she never bothered to fold clothes, but something inside her told her to clean up the mess. If anything, the feeling tugged at her for selfish reasons as she remembered her jeans were a part of that load of laundry.

She grabbed the tight denim and put both feet on the floor as she laid the folded jeans in her lap. She left the basket on the couch and stood as she tossed the jeans over her arm. She grabbed the dirty dishes from the coffee table and took them to the sink. She set them down on what appeared to be the dirty side and ran hot water over them for a bit. She did nothing else to clean them and turned off the water before she headed back upstairs. She found her shirt from the previous night on the bathroom floor and grabbed it before she shuffled back toward the bed. She carelessly threw the shirt on top of the straightened out sheets then tugged on her jeans.

She gritted her teeth as she tried to pull the material over her throbbing thigh, but it hurt too much and within seconds, she gave up. She dropped the pants onto the bed and peeled off the comfortable black tee Regina had lent her.

Emma turned to the dresser and opened the drawer that had rewarded her with sweatpants. She didn't want to wear sweatpants around town, especially when she didn't parade around in anything less than form-fitting, but her only other option would be to silently walk around in severe pain if she wore her usual attire.

She sighed and grabbed the last pair of sweatpants from the drawer, black and baggy. The only difference between that pair and the one Emma wore the previous night was the color. She effortlessly slid into the pants and closed the drawer.

She looked at her dark blue V-neck tee on the bed and groaned at the thought of wearing it two days in a row with all the small town talk Gold had mentioned. If she wanted to make up for the work she failed to do the day before, she would need to get to the station straight from Regina's. She wouldn't have time to go back to the apartment and change.

She sighed and turned to the dresser again. She pulled open the top drawer only to be met by several pairs of panties. Emma laughed to herself with the discovery and fought the urge to lift a few for inspection.

She closed the drawer and moved on to the on below it. There she found a good selection of shirts the brunette clearly didn't feel needed to be hung to avoid wrinkles. They were less formal, but still held a great deal of business-like appeal. They were definitely not what Emma would wear. She folded over the already folded shirts as she scanned through the drawer until she stumbled upon a white undershirt.

“Bingo,” Emma said to herself as she eased the undershirt from beneath a stack of neatly tucked away shirts.

She set the other shirts down when she had the undershirt in her possession then shut the drawer and backed away from the dresser. She stood bare breasted in a pair of borrowed sweatpants as she crossed the bedroom and disappeared into the bathroom.

Emma grabbed her bra from the previous night and put it on before she pulled the undershirt over her head and shimmied her way into it. She adjusted the undershirt to cover the cups of her black bra, though it hardly mattered as the transparent material clearly revealed the color and outline of the bra.

She made herself at home and started to check the drawers in search of a brush. It didn't take long before she found one and untangled her curls with it. She didn't think she would do much in terms of her appearance, but Regina didn't have to know what she'd done in the house after she'd taken Henry to school and went to work. She figured after the pain she went through the night before, though it ended on a less painful note and more of a sweet and pleasurable one, she thought she deserved a little time to make herself presentable with what she had at her disposal.

She took a deep breath as she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked sad and seemed utterly unsatisfied.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated on the nightstand in the bedroom.

She whipped her head to the side to look from the mirror to it. She stepped away from the counter in the bathroom and headed toward the nightstand. She picked up the phone and saw she had one new message from Regina.

“ _I just had a citizen bite my head off for not handling their situation. I didn't know what they were talking about until they told me they'd filed a complaint at the Sheriff's office. If you have paperwork for me to look at, I need them by lunch today. Don't let me be caught off guard like that again.”_

Emma groaned before typing out a reply.

“ _When's your break?”_

Emma grabbed her jeans and headed downstairs. She grabbed the spare key in the foyer when her phone vibrated with another text.

“ _1:30. Don't be late.”_

Emma pocketed her cell and locked up on her way out. She went straight to her car and realized Henry must have seen it before Regina dropped him off at school.

She frowned and grabbed her phone again as she slid into the yellow bug. She shut the door and dropped her jeans in the passenger's seat before typing a message to Regina.

“ _Did Henry see my car this morning?”_

“ _Yes.”_

“ _What'd you do?”_

“ _I told him you must have had car trouble and walked home.”_

“ _Did he believe you?”_

Emma waited for a response, but when one didn't come, she bit her bottom lip and started the car. She put it into Drive when her phone vibrated again.

“ _I convinced him,”_ was Regina's late answer.

Emma sighed with relief as she let off the brake and lightly tapped the gas. She went straight to the station as she intended, but growled in annoyance when she saw Mr. Gold standing outside.

“Sheriff Swan,” he smiled as she got out of the car and approached him. “I'm still in need of some assistance.”

“Still looking for a piece of paper,” Emma asked like she couldn't be less interested.

“Oh, it's more than a piece of paper, dearie. It's a legally binding document. Though I feel we've had this conversation before.”

“Then get on with it. I'm tired and I have a lot of work to catch up on,” she flatly said as she unlocked the station.

“Well, you see, I think I know who has the contract. I checked the back of my shop after you left and concluded it has indeed been stolen. I didn't realize it before, but a window on the back door had been smashed in.”

“And what do you want me to do about it,” Emma asked as Gold followed her through the station toward the work room.

“I'd like you to find out if they are in fact the one that took it from me.”

“You want me to track them down and ask them if they took some paper from your shop.”

Gold clutched the handle of his cane like a stress ball before he unclenched his fist.

“Yes. And if they have what I want, you need to get it back for me. It's almost time for them to hold up their end of the deal and without that documentation, I have no legal claims to what's rightfully mine.”

Emma placed a hand on her hip and cocked it as she stopped in front of her office.

“Fine. You got a name?”

Emma pulled information from the computer about the suspected thief for Gold after he left, but she didn't do anything with it. She sat on it as she focused her attention on the piles of paperwork she'd sorted out with Henry.

There were way more files in the “Regina” pile than she'd remembered and felt a headache start to pound from the back of her skull to the front the more she studied the papers. Without anything to do in Storybrooke, the townspeople knew how to make something out of nothing. It must have been their only form of entertainment as the complaints varied from, “Her leaves are in my backyard” to “He refuses to cut his grass and doesn't take care of the weeds growing in his yard, front and back.”

“The people here are cranky,” Emma said to herself as she stared down at the complaints.

She read over another one, amusing but ridiculous nonetheless, and laughed to herself.

“Leaves the curtains open and walks around nude, especially when I'm at home trying to mind my own business,” she read aloud. “God, unless he's that ugly you should just take it as a compliment. The amount of times you complain about your neighbor's dogs barking and freaking out your cat, you should go next door and jump on it. Clearly, he's willing to help you relax.”

Emma shook her head then looked up at the clock on the wall in the work room outside her office.

“Shit,” she muttered to herself as she hurriedly grabbed all the files in the “Regina” pile and held them tight against her chest.

She jumped into the cruiser, her work car, and sped off toward the Mayor's house.

Within a matter of minutes, she flew through the town and made her way down Mifflin Street. She parked on the curb facing the opposite direction she normally did, not having time to park the way she liked or come from her usual direction, and rushed out of the car, paperwork clutched to her chest.

A few papers blew out of the manila folders that held them as she came up the walkway and Emma scurried to pick them up before she could reach the door. When she had a sloppy handle on the files, she cautiously crossed the front porch as she tried to not to let go of the falling folders.

She tried the door, but it was locked. She frowned and turned to the driveway. Regina's car was parked as it always was so the brunette had to be inside.

Emma groaned and did a silly little dance as she stomped her feet in frustration.

“Really,” she rhetorically asked, no one to direct the question at though it was meant for Regina.

She wrestled with the paperwork as she struggled to keep it in her arms as she freed a hand and reached into the pocket of the sweatpants. She retrieved the spare key and unlocked the door.

She stepped inside and awkwardly closed the door behind her. She locked it again, though she wasn't sure why, and stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

“Regina?”

“Upstairs,” Regina said, her voice almost inaudible from the distance between the two women.

Emma sighed and carried the paperwork upstairs. She went straight to Regina's bedroom and shifted the papers in her arm as she knocked on the closed door.

“Come in, dear.”

Emma leaned back and steadied the folders on her abdomen as she turned the knob and pushed forward into the room.

Regina stood in the bathroom with a few bottles of what looked like lotion on the counter in front of her, the door to the master bath wide open.

“You're late.”

“Sorry. I was reading over some files and-”

“I don't care _why_ you're late. You're still late.”

“And you're still getting a massage. I wouldn't be making such a fuss if I were you.”

“I have no idea if the massage is going to be worth anything, dear. And we both know you fuss over everything.”

Emma rolled her eyes as she walked toward the dresser. She dumped the paperwork on top of it and turned back to Regina.

“Do you want this massage or not.”

“You're not getting out of this massage one way or the other, Miss Swan. It will happen, but you made me wait for you so now you get to wait for me.”

Emma sighed and plopped down on the edge of the bed.

“I didn't think you'd bring anything with you so I took the liberty of getting a few massage oils before I came home.”

“Geez. Oils? My hands are enough to satisfy.”

Regina grinned as she looked from the oils to the mirror in front of her. She stared at herself as the next few words flowed right out of her mouth.

“And how do you expect to give me the best massage I've ever had with just your hands alone?”

“Uh, give you that happy ending you want so badly,” Emma said in a “duh” tone of voice.

Regina tensed at Emma's choice of words.

“Happy ending?”

“Oh, I'm sorry,” she sarcastically started. “Have you never had one before?”

“No, I haven't had the pleasure.”

Emma laughed.

“Well, then, maybe your first should be with me.”

“First,” Regina warily asked. “How many do you suggest I have?”

“That all depends on you. ...Do you even know what a happy ending is?”

“Not in the context you seem to be referring.”

“Wow. How many massages have you had?”

“A few,” she defensively started. “I have a feeling what you speak of is something to lowly for my stature.”

“I guess it would be.”

“Tell me,” Regina said as she grabbed the oil bottles and walked into the bedroom. “How many massages have you had?”

“Full body? Mm, none. I've had my shoulders rubbed a few times, though, by the same person. After that, I never trusted anyone.”

“You have to trust someone before they can rub your shoulders,” Regina incredulously asked with a chuckle. “Oh, dear, if you can sleep with the man I think he should be allowed to touch your shoulders.”

“Because of that guy I actually let rub my shoulders, I associated neck rubs with intimacy and love.”

“And why is that?”

“He would rub my shoulders when I was sad or stressed then...” Emma trailed off as she remembered.

She saw his face in her memories and snapped herself back to reality.

“It doesn't matter. Are we doing this or what? You don't have all day.”

“No, I don't,” Regina flatly agreed after a moment.

She set the oil bottles on the nightstand and unbuttoned her blouse as she stood before Emma.

Emma looked with watchful, slightly hungry eyes as Regina exposed her bra and tan stomach inches from her face.

Regina slid the blouse off her shoulders and it gracefully fell down her arms until it pooled around the brunette's feet. She bent down and worked her way out of her heels then stepped to the side of Emma as she unhooked her bra. She held the bra to her chest with one hand as she crawled onto the bed then laid flat on her stomach. The bra covered the front of her chest though her back was completely exposed to Emma.

Emma stood and faced the bed. She looked over at the nightstand and grabbed one of the bottles. She silently read off the scent then read the other one. She had a choice between Sinful Apple or Lustful Lavender.

“I assume you're fond of the apple scented one,” Emma said as she stared down at Regina.

Regina's head was turned to looked at Emma, the right side of her face pressed against a pillow.

“Your call, dear. What would you prefer to use?”

“Your body wash and shampoo both smell like apples. Why would you bother getting something not apple scented?”

“Because I want you to choose. You said this would be the best massage I've ever received. Giving you a couple of options makes it easier to grade your performance.”

It was a test and Emma had played enough games with Regina to pass with flying colors.

“Pfft,” Emma rolled her eyes and picked up the apple scented oil.

She squeezed out enough oil the size of a quarter then set the bottle back on the nightstand as Regina closed her eyes. She rubbed the oil in her hands and knelt on the bed as she moved to straddle the backs of the Mayor's thighs.

Emma leaned over and started to rub the oil over Regina's shoulder blades. The tips of her blonde curls tickled Regina's back as Emma moved, though the brunette didn't laugh at the touch.

The scent of apples quickly filled the room as Emma spread the oil over the full expanse of Regina's back. She occasionally pressed her fingertips into the soft skin as she did and got a good feel for the knots in Regina's back.

“Damn, you're tense,” Emma said as she worked on the middle of Regina's back.

She pushed her her thumbs up toward Regina's neck and shoulders as she non-destructively dug into the woman's skin, no marks left behind.

Regina softly moaned.

“What do you do all day that gets you so worked up,” Emma asked, not paying much attention to Regina's moan.

“Put up with you,” Regina grumbled.

“I doubt I get to you this much,” Emma said as she pressed the heel of both palms into Regina's back as she moved from the middle of her back up to her neck.

Regina parted her lips and another moan escaped her, louder than the previous one.

Emma smiled to herself as she recognized a job well-done though she was far from finished.

“What else do you do daily?”

“Stop. Talking,” Regina slowly growled.

Emma smirked to herself and repositioned herself over Regina's hips as she directed her attention to the woman's shoulders.

“Did you replace the table in the study,” Emma asked as she applied pressure then squeezed the brunette's shoulders.

“Yes,” Regina answered after a minute. “I thought I told you to stop talking.”

“I like talking to you,” Emma continued to smirk as she felt Regina tense further under her fingers.

That time she purposely annoyed the older woman.

“Miss Swan, if you don't stop asking questions, I'm going to ask you a few.”

“Go right ahead, Madame Mayor. We could make a game out of it. I ask you something, you ask me something.”

“That's not how this arrangement works.”

“It doesn't,” Emma feigned a frown then twisted Regina's skin beneath her as she purposely applied pressure in the wrong place.

“Ah,” Regina groaned and balled up a fist at the painful movement. “Do that again and see what happens to your thigh! This time I won't ease up.”

Emma kneaded the area she'd hurt and immediately got a different reaction than the last.

Regina sighed in relief and the tension in that spot soon vanished.

“When do you have to get back to the office,” Emma asked.

“Two fifteen.”

“Can I ask you another question?”

“Not if you want this to be the worse massage I've ever received and lose that spare key.”

“What if you ask me one? If I answer, can I ask you one?”

“I told you that's not how we work.”

“So...you get to use me and I get nothing.”

“Exactly. Although, I wouldn't consider all the orgasms I've given you nothing.”

Emma sighed.

“Not to mention the time you get with Henry,” Regina continued.

“Right. I got it.”

“I will ask you a question, though. After all the questions you've thrown at me. If you don't answer, you don't get to earn the spare key.”

“What? No, that's not fair.”

“Then you can finish this massage in silence and regardless of how good it is, you lose the key anyway.”

“Ugh,” Emma growled out of frustration. “Ask away.”

“Tell me about the person you let rub your shoulders.”

“Seriously? No, that's off limits.”

“Then I expect you to leave the key where you found it before you leave.”

Emma frowned as she weighed her options. Just as she was willing to give up the key, Regina spoke up.

“If the key isn't enough to get you to talk, I will gladly revoke your privileges to take Henry after school.”

“You want to know about the guy that badly?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It's surprisingly interesting.”

“It's really not.”

“Time is ticking away, Miss Swan. What's it going to be?”

Emma took a deep breath and released it in a heavy sigh. She continued to massage Regina a few seconds before she started.

“What do you wanna know? He was older. He understood me, came from the same kind of hurt I did. Grew up alone like me. Didn't think anyone cared about him. He was sleeping in the backseat of a car I'd stolen and popped up when I adjusted the rear view mirror. I thought I'd stolen his car and for a while, I thought he might try to kill me.

“I ran a stop sign and got the attention of a cop. When we got pulled over, I realized he'd stolen the car before I did and then he lied to the cop, told him I was his girlfriend and he was teaching me how to drive stick.”

She stopped and focused on Regina as she moved her hands lower.

“Go on.”

“Really? What else could you possibly want to know?”

“You told me how you met. Tell me, how does the story end?”

“Tragically,” she bitterly said as she brought her hands to Regina's lower back.

“I don't suppose you'd care to explain the events leading to that tragedy?”

“That depends. Are you still threatening to take away my visitation rights?”

“I don't know. I haven't decided if this story is worth the trouble.”

“It's not.”

“Hmm. Then it must be worth it. Yes, I'd like to hear the end at the same cost.”

“You're infuriating.”

“And yet you still come back for more.”

“Hey, I fuck you for good reason.”

“What, for Henry?”

“Yes.”

“You don't have to do the things you've done to me to see him. You and I both know that.”

“No, I don't think I did.”

“Then allow me to clarify... _after_ your story.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“He used to rub my shoulders and my neck when I was stressed or sad.”

“You've mentioned that.”

“One night, I had a nightmare. I remembered a long, painful night from when I was in foster care. He tried to calm me down and started rubbing my shoulders. He told me things, nice things. He reassured me everything was fine, that what I saw was all in the past and it'd be nothing more than a bad dream from then on. I started to relax and he kissed my neck. One thing lead to the other...and then a few weeks later, things fell apart. There. Was that enough for you?”

“No.”

“God, then why don't you map out exactly what you want me to tell you about him.”

“Who was he?”

“Some guy.”

“He wasn't just 'some guy', Miss Swan. He had to mean something to you if you haven't let anyone touch you in the innocent way he did.”

“He's...he's Henry's father.”

“I see,” Regina raised an eyebrow. “And why did things fall apart?”

“I went to jail for the asshole after he'd knocked me up.”

“When we first met, you told me he didn't know about Henry.”

“He didn't. He _doesn't_.”

“Sounds like you blame him for getting you pregnant when you never even told him.”

“Yeah, well, he didn't even visit me while I was locked up. He just left me the stupid car,” Emma mumbled, though Regina heard every word.

“That hideous thing you drive around is the car you stole?”

Emma tensed as she stopped massaging Regina when she realized what she'd just admitted.

“Yeah.”

“Figures,” Regina chuckled. “How have you been able to drive it around if it's stolen?”

“We talked about making it legitimate.”

“Unlike Henry,” the brunette quipped.

Emma moved off Regina and stood next to the bed.

“That's it. We're done. Paperwork's on the dresser. I'm out of here.”

Regina loftily chuckled.

“Did I offend you, dear,” she asked as she sat up and held her bra to her chest.

“Of course you wouldn't get it. Not that I know you're life or anything, but I bet Graham was the closest thing you had to love, you heartless bitch!”

Regina's jaw dropped.

“I beg your pardon?”

“The sad thing about that is, he didn't even love you. He just obeyed you and all your fucked up sexual needs.”

“How dare you.”

“No! How dare _you._ I answered your damn question, which, by the way, was a statement that turned into more statements. And all you want to do is criticize me like I don't know what happened was shitty. Like I don't know I was an idiot for loving someone that obviously didn't care about me, someone that didn't even love me back even though he told me over and over again that he did.”

Emma had to take a deep breath as tears formed in her eyes. She didn't like to cry. She hadn't done it in a long time. In fact, the last time she had was when she'd cried herself to sleep her first week in prison.

She ran her hands through her air and tried to take another deep breath.

“Keep calling me a whore, tell me I'm cheap and easy. I don't care! But when it comes to Henry and how he came to be, you leave it the fuck alone,” Emma warningly pointed at her.

And there it was. Emma Swan's weakness.

Regina contentedly sighed as she looked at Emma from head to toe then locked eyes with her as she spoke.

“You can keep the key. And if you want to leave, you can go, but I wasn't satisfied with this massage and ask that you take time out of your day tomorrow to make it up to me.”

“Hell no. I don't owe you anything,” Emma glared down at Regina.

“And in exchange,” Regina rolled her eyes. “I won't mention Henry's father again.”

Emma clenched her jaw as she rapidly looked Regina up and down. She tried to judge the woman that sat before her, almost half naked if it weren't for the bra she clung to her chest. After a moment or two, she slowly sighed.

“Fine, but if you bring him up again, this arrangement of ours becomes platonic. The only trade off between us will be Henry. Got it?”

“We have a deal, Miss Swan.”

“Thank you.”

“But _don't_ use that tone with me again. ...Now help me with my bra,” Regina said as she turned her back to Emma.

Emma reached out and hooked Regina's bra.

The brunette adjusted her breasts inside the cups until they were comfortable and plump in the undergarment. She bent down and grabbed her blouse off the floor then sat on the bed and started to button up.

“Tomorrow, on _my_ lunch break, you can come over to the apartment to clean. I'll give you a massage after you're done,” Emma told Regina.

“What would you like me to wear,” Regina bitterly forced a smile.

“Your highest pair of heels and your most revealing lingerie. Black, like your heart, would be preferable,” Emma said before she turned and headed toward the bedroom door.

“I can assure you, dear. My heart isn't as black as you think.”

“Right. Well, until the day you can prove that to me, it's black as coal in my mind,” Emma threw the words over her shoulder and left.

Though Regina didn't appreciate the jabs Emma made about her relationship with Graham, she let it go. If she looked at the bigger picture, she had won. Not only did she get the blonde to open up, but she found a sore spot that she could slowly start to pick at until she destroyed the younger woman.

With that, she grinned, but a part of her couldn't enjoy the moment as much as she would have had Emma not gotten her own licks in. Regina didn't even know the damage Emma had done as she thought about Daniel, her true love long gone, but never forgotten. She let the painful memory seep into the front of her mind and drown her heart in sorrow as she sat.

She took a deep, though hitched, breath and looked to the alarm clock on the nightstand.

_2:30pm._

She sighed and shook her hands as though it would shake the emotional pain from her body then headed back to her office.

Emma had only left the needed paperwork in the Mayor's bedroom and had all the information she needed for Gold's theft case. She'd driven over to the address she'd found earlier, her body riddled with anger and tension when she had.

She never talked about him, about Henry's father. She knew she'd only told Regina about it when she threatened visitation rights with Henry, but something tugged at her. She didn't understand why Regina would want to know, and why she insisted to find out, when Emma had told her it wasn't nearly as interesting as the brunette had perceived.

She sighed as she turned down the main road and drove down a short ways before she pulled over at Granny's. The results from going to the address listed for Ashley Boyd had been unsuccessful and didn't help calm Emma after dealing with Regina beforehand.

She'd finally made it to the door only to listen to an older woman talk harshly about her daughter. Correction, stepdaughter. The woman had been cruel with her words toward the girl Emma searched for, though she'd said few, and dismissed Emma within a few minutes.

She decided to grab a quick bite from Granny's. She hadn't eaten anything on her lunch break since Regina insisted they sync their schedules then rattled the blonde's cage before she could get anything out of her time with the Mayor.

Ruby smiled at her when she entered.

“A little later than usual, but your order's still hot and ready to go,” Ruby informed Emma as the blonde tiredly approached the counter.

“Thanks. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know Ashley Boyd, would you?”

“Who's asking,” Ruby placed a hand on a cocked hip as she eyed the Sheriff.

“Me. I'm looking for her. She might have stolen something-”

“From Mr. Gold,” Ruby asked as she cut Emma off.

Emma pursed her lips for a moment.

“Yeah. What do you know?”

“Nothing,” Ruby said as she looked down at the counter then turned away from Emma.

Ruby tried to keep herself busy and work in an area away from Emma, but her new friend stopped her.

“Ruby,” Emma warningly pleaded. “I need to find her.”

“Just leave it alone, Emma. Gold is bad news. Whatever Ashley did or didn't do is her business,” Ruby said as she spun on her heels to face Emma again.

“I get it if you're trying to protect your friend-”

“Yeah, Ashley's my friend and I'm not gonna rat her out, especially not if this has something to do with Gold.”

“What is so bad about Gold?”

Ruby sighed.

“Does he have you looking for her?”

“Yes.”

“How much has he told you?”

“Just that he thinks she took some contract from him.”

“And you have no idea what that contract says?”

“Not a clue.”

“I can tell you where she is if you promise to hear her side of things,” Ruby said after a moment of consideration.

“Okay. I'm not trying to arrest anyone here, Ruby. All I wanted to do was talk.”

“Good. Remember that after what you're about to hear.”

Ruby turned away from Emma and waved the blonde toward the back of the diner.

Emma followed her and disappeared into a laundry room with the waitress. There she saw a blonde with her hair lazily pulled back, her hands full of pink sheets.

The woman shook her head as tears threatened to fall down her face before she sighed in defeat.

“They're pink,” she sadly said as she looked up at Ruby and Emma. “The sheet's are pink.”

“Sweetie, it's okay,” Ruby soothingly said as she walked up to her.

She rubbed her hand up and down one of the woman's arms and looked from her to Emma when the latter spoke up.

“Did you try bleach,” Emma calmly asked.

The woman frowned and dropped her arms to her side to reveal a protruding stomach.

“Oh,” Emma flatly said then furrowed her brow as she looked over the woman.

“Ashley, this is Emma,” Ruby started. “She was looking for you. I think she needs to know about you and Gold.”

Ashley nearly gasped as her eyes widened. She looked to Ruby and shook her head.

“No. Tell me she's not here because of the contract. He can't do it. He can't!”

“Shh. She said she's not here to take you into custody or to Mr. Gold. She just wants to hear you out.”

“Nobody ever wants to listen to me. They shouldn't have made that deal. I shouldn't have agreed.”

“What deal? Ashley, what's going on,” Emma asked as she took a step closer to her and Ruby.

“I...I don't have much. I'm nineteen and pregnant. The father...Sean...doesn't want anything to do with me or the baby. Sean's father was the one that convinced Gold to...'take care of me'. It seemed like a reasonable trade off at the time, but... Nobody thinks I can do it.”

Emma shook her head.

“I don't understand.”

“Nobody thinks I'm ready for this baby. The whole town thinks I can't do it.”

“Do you think you can do it?”

Ashley took a few shallow breaths to calm down then sheepishly nodded.

“I think I can. I _want_ to do this. I want to be a mother.”

“Then that's all that matters. Screw everyone else. If you want to be a mother, be a mother. That's your baby and it's your choice. Nobody can take that from you. No one can decide for you.”

“But it's too late. I already signed the contract,” Ashley explained.

“What do you mean?”

“The contract says that I give Mr. Gold the right to take my baby and find him or her a good home if he so chooses. In exchange, I get a decent amount of money to help me live and for a while now, I've been living rent free here with Ruby so I could really use the help.”

“You sold your baby,” Emma quietly asked, sad and slightly disgusted by the idea.

She knew she had no right to judge and she knew what it was like to be desperate, but of all her options, she never would've sold Henry for quick cash.

“I didn't know what else to do,” she almost cried. “But now I know. I know that I want to keep my baby. That's why I stole the contract from Gold. Without it, he can't take my baby.”

“You really want to do this? You really want to commit to this kid?”

Ashley nodded as a couple tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Yes,” she quietly said at first then found her voice, stronger. “Yes.”

Emma looked Ashley over for a moment.

“Okay. Where's the contract?”

“What,” Ashley asked as fear washed over her.

“Emma,” Ruby exclaimed as she pulled Ashley closer to her.

“I'm not gonna give it to him. I promise,” Emma said as she looked between the two women.

Ruby paused, but after a moment turned Ashley toward her.

“You can trust her,” she reassured Ashley.

Ashley sniffled then slowly turned back to Emma.

“It's in my room upstairs,” Ashley confessed. “I can show you.”

“Actually, I'd like you to give it to me. I can keep it safe from Gold. As long as I have it, he won't get it back.”

“She's kept it safe until know.”

“Yes, but he knows she has it. I don't want to risk him coming after you to get what he thinks belongs to him. I can fight him off if push comes to shove. You've got a baby to think about and...you look like you're ready to pop so the less stress you put on yourself, the better.”

“You sound like you've done this before,” Ashley said.

“You're nineteen?”

“Yes.”

“I was eighteen.”

“When you had your baby?”

Emma nodded.

“I'm not gonna let him take your baby no matter what that contract says.”

 


	15. Chapter 15

Emma drove straight to the school and waited for Henry, a few minutes early. She thrummed her fingers against the steering wheel for a few seconds before she impatiently reached over and messed with the stereo with one hand.

She settled on the classic rock and alternative station and tapped her fingers to the beat of the song that played. She rarely turned on the radio due to the poor reception from a system that didn't exactly fit her outdated car in the first place. She'd traveled far too long without music when she crossed state lines over the last ten years and decided to make an addition to the yellow bug. She'd allowed herself what she considered a luxury item and saved up for a simple system before she had headed to Boston.

The bell rang from the school building and within a couple minutes, children flooded the sidewalk with mostly smiling faces. Among the crowd, Henry casually strode out while several others around him jogged toward their parents or their means of transportation.

Emma frowned as she noticed the less than happy look on Henry's face as he looked at the concrete.

Henry looked up and noticed Emma was already there. He flashed a small smile then hurried toward the car.

Emma turned off the music as Henry approached the passenger's side door. She smiled at him as he pulled it open and slipped inside.

Henry dropped his bag at his feet and closed the door before he looked out the windshield for a few seconds.

“You got your car fixed?”

“What, uh, yeah! I had to call the mechanic to come pick it up. It wasn't as bad as I thought. He fixed it in a couple of hours this morning and said I was good to go,” Emma lied as she awkwardly kept both hands on the steering wheel. “So...”

Henry took a deep breath and sighed before he looked to Emma.

“I had a history test today.”

“You did?”

“Mhmm.”

“How'd you do?”

He nervously bit his bottom lip before he leaned over and opened his backpack. He reached between a couple folders and a few notebooks then pulled out a paper. He handed it over to Emma and sat back.

Emma looked at the circled grade in red at the top right corner of the page.

“You got an A,” she beamed. “That's great!”

Henry smiled.

“You tried to make me think something bad happened,” Emma said as she playfully swatted his arm with the back of her hand. “Sneaky little faker.”

Henry widened his smile and showed his teeth to the blonde.

“Guess we don't have to spend Sunday studying.”

“No, but I think I'm gonna have to keep up good grades like this.”

“Well, of course. Now that I know you're capable of A's, I expect nothing less, kid.”

“Neither does my mom.”

“That means she cares. She's trying to give you the best future, the most opportunities and possibilities.”

“She only cares about herself. She's the-”

“Evil Queen,” Emma grumbled and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, she really does act like one.”

“So...you believe me?”

“What? No. I said she _acts_ like one. I didn't say she was one.”

“There's _only_ one and she's it. I'm telling you. You should really read my book.”

Emma sighed.

“Anyway, we should celebrate my A.”

“If you suggest having dinner with your mom again, that's not gonna happen,” she warned.

Henry frowned.

“That's not what I was gonna say. I just want to go to the arcade.”

“Oh. Well, that I can do.”

“What happened,” he asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” she said as she started the car. “Help me get to the arcade?”

She looked at him once last time before she trained her eyes on the road.

“Sure,” he answered.

After a little over an hour at the arcade, Henry was happy with a stuffed animal and plastic superhero toy he'd won with his tickets.

Emma had enjoyed their time together. Though she was physically empty handed, she'd played against him at skee ball, helped him perfect his shot at the moving basketball game, and even battled him at Dance Dance Revolution after several long, unsuccessful minutes of protest. Emotionally, she left the arcade feeling like she'd won the lottery.

But the fun had to end.

Outside the house, Emma remained in the car, parked on the curb. She'd turned off the car, but sat and stared at the white door directly down the walkway from where she sat.

“Today was awesome. I had so much fun,” Henry smiled at her.

Emma looked from the door to Henry then smiled back.

“Aw. I did too, Henry.”

He stared at her for another couple of seconds then grabbed his bag and his prizes. He got out of the car and Emma released a sigh as she followed his lead.

She walked side by side with him onto the porch. She rang the doorbell then looked down at Henry as he struggled to carry the giant bear. She chuckled under her breath seconds before Regina opened the door.

“So I'll see you tomorrow,” Henry asked as he looked up at Emma, hopeful.

“Yep,” she said as she briefly rubbed his back.

“Cool. Thanks for the bear and the superhero.”

“Hey, you earned those,” she said as she lightly pressed the tip of her index finger into his chest.

He beamed up at her.

“Will you kiss the bear goodnight,” he asked her.

Emma gulped and tried not to look at Regina, though she felt the brunette bore holes into her with a heated stare.

“Uh, I don't know,” Emma scrunched up her face.

She was noticeably uncomfortable.

“Please,” he asked as he stuck out his bottom lip in a pout.

Emma took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled through her mouth as she bent over, her hands on her knees.

He inched the bear closer to her face with a smile.

She peeked around the bear's head to look at Henry and returned the smile before she moved back in front of the bear, unable to see Henry behind it. She leaned in the rest of the way and kissed the bear's nose.

Henry felt the peck and happily pulled the bear against his chest, though he kept it facing Emma.

Emma stood straight and continued to smile at Henry.

“Good?”

“Yeah, thanks,” his eyes twinkled. “Maybe one day you can kiss me goodnight.”

Emma tensed and tried to keep the smile on her face, but a twinge of pain and guilt appeared over it.

Thankfully, Henry didn't notice. Unfortunately, Regina did.

Henry turned and jogged into the house, which left Emma and Regina alone in the doorway.

“Where'd you take him today, Miss Swan?”

“The arcade,” Emma flatly answered as her smile instantly vanished.

“Well, clearly he had fun.”

“Yeah, maybe you should start taking him places, actually _try_ to show him you care.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Whatever. I'm not gonna argue with you. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Emma turned to leave, but Regina stepped onto the porch and stopped her.

“Wait, Miss Swan...” she trailed off as she waited for the blonde to face her.

Emma sighed and stuffed her hands into the pockets of the sweatpants as she slowly spun on her heels. She looked down at the ground for a few seconds before she locked eyes with the brunette's.

“Next time you're in my house, don't steal my clothes,” Regina said as she looked over the younger woman's attire. “Among other reasons, it looks better on me.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Goodnight, Madame Mayor.”

Regina grinned then turned and headed back into the house.

Emma closed her eyes at the sound of the front door slam shut. She slowly released a sigh through her nose and opened her eyes. She made it the rest of the way to her car and angrily closed the door before she sped off.

Contract in hand, Emma stared down at the yellowed paper she held less than an inch above her desk. She caught the tip of her tongue between her teeth as she quizzically read over it.

“Ah, Sheriff Swan,” a man said at the doorway and caused Emma to drop the contract flat onto the desk.

She whipped her head up to see who came in and her expression didn't soften when she did.

“Mr. Gold,” she glared at him.

“Have you acquired what I asked?”

“It's only been a day since you gave me the information.”

“And I'm under the impression you don't have much work to do around here.”

Emma sighed.

“I talked to Ashley,” she said as she discretely buried the contract under other paperwork. “She doesn't have what you want.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that, dearie.”

“I know about the baby.”

“Then she must have had the contract,” Gold expectantly grinned.

“I already told you she doesn't and even if she did, you wouldn't be getting that baby.”

“Sheriff, we don't know each other very well. Allow me to explain something to you. Nobody breaks deals with me and it wouldn't be wise to challenge me.”

“If that's true then I guess it's good I'm not going up against you. Not yet. Now if you'll excuse me, I have lunch plans.”

Emma scooped up all the paperwork on her desk, including the contract, and stood. She walked toward Gold and brushed past him through the doorway as she made her way to the exit.

Gold clenched his jaw and stood displeased in the doorway to the Sheriff's office. After a few seconds, he turned and followed Emma out.

Emma got in her VW bug and sat. She waited until she watched Gold leave before she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Regina.

“ _On break. Meet me at the apartment.”_

She dropped the phone into her jacket pocket and sighed as she took a minute to collect herself. She got out of the car, Gold a fair distance down the street, and locked up the station. She returned to her car and started it without hesitation then drove off without looking back.

She'd received no reply from Regina and was already fifteen minutes into her break. She waited, but started to wonder if the Mayor would actually show. They had a deal, but Regina was the last person to comply if she didn't feel she would get something satisfying out of it.

She situated herself on the couch in the living room and laid against the arm of the couch facing the front door. Her knees were halfway to her chest as she kept her legs relaxed. She hadn't bothered to take off her boots. She hadn't even unlaced them as they covered her calves. Instead, she sat in silence as she rolled the hem of her shirt between her fingers.

A soft knock sounded at the door and Emma peered up at the chipped wood. It was unlocked and she was almost a hundred percent sure it was Regina. She could just invite the older woman in and have her start cleaning without having to move a muscle, but then she remembered the fight they'd had the previous day. She didn't want things to be easy for the Mayor after the words exchanged during the failed massage.

She rolled off the couch and came to the door. She pulled it open, slightly tense though she tiredly sighed.

Regina stood on the other side of the door in a long black coat that stopped an inch or two below her knees. She wore high heels Emma had never seen the woman wear and a pair of black stockings. She held a bucket of cleaning supplies in her right hand and looked bored and uninterested.

“Let's get this over with,” Regina flatly said as she pushed past the blonde and entered the apartment.

“Come right in,” Emma sarcastically said under her breath as she rolled her eyes and shut the door behind the brunette.

Emma turned to Regina as the Mayor set the bucket on the kitchen counter.

“Um, that's not lingerie,” Emma started as she pointed at Regina's outfit. “And it's definitely not revealing.”

Regina turned her body to completely face Emma then untied her coat at her waist. She pulled it apart and let it slide down her arms before it pooled at her feet.

Emma's jaw dropped as she took in the sight of a lacy black, but transparent, low cut cover up that clung to her curves and exposed her matching black lace bra and panties. Complete with a garter belt for the stockings, the cover up cut off just before mid-thigh. The thin material also clearly displayed the expanse of Regina's taut, tan torso. The outfit alone made up for Emma's crappy day.

“I never disappoint, dear,” Regina spoke in her sultry, seductive tone.

“Obviously,” Emma breathed out as she continued to look the brunette up and down.

“What should I clean first,” Regina asked as she looked around the place and scrunched up her face in disgust.

“Uh,” Emma snapped herself out of her reverie and focused. “You can dust the ceiling fan over there and the overhead lights in the kitchen.”

Regina gave a short, single nod in understanding and reached into the bucket.

“Lucky for you I brought a feather duster,” Regina said as she steadied one of the chairs at the kitchen island and stepped onto it.

She didn't do it gracefully like most of the things she did, but still gave Emma a good view of her backside and leg muscles as she climbed onto the chair. She stepped onto the island with a stomp of her heel on the surface, one foot on the chair and the other on the counter.

Emma bit her bottom lip as she feverishly stared at Regina's spread legs.

The cover up had rode up Regina's thighs and stopped a tiny bit before her hips.

Emma stepped closer to the counter until her hips collided with it. She hungrily stared up between Regina's legs and licked her lips.

Regina dusted the circular overhead lights as told and didn't look down at Emma. She didn't have to when she felt the blonde's hand reach out and run up and down her calve. She grinned to herself as she finished off the last light and dropped the duster to her side.

Emma retreated. She stepped back to allow Regina enough space to get down from the chair and watched the brunette move toward the fan by the staircase. They remained in silence.

Regina swayed her hips as her heels click-clacked on the hardwood floor. She walked deliberately as she placed one foot in front of the other in her tantalizing strut.

“I see you managed to wear your own pants today,” Regina spoke as she stopped under the fan and looked to the small dining table to her left.

She walked over to it and pulled it directly under the fan before she climbed onto it on all fours.

Emma blew out a sigh as she stared at Regina's teasing backside as it looked her in the face. She knew she owed Regina a massage, but she also owed her an orgasm. She had to think of ways to satisfy both debts and gladly permitted her mind to wander as she talked to the Mayor.

“Yeah. It hurt like a bitch to get in them, but I finally got them over my thigh without breaking open the wound again.”

“Do you think of me every time you feel it throb in pain,” Regina asked as she stood on the table and reached up to dust the unmoving fan blades.

“Occasionally,” Emma mindlessly confessed as she repeated her actions from when they were in the kitchen.

She closed the space between her and the table Regina stood on and stared at the body above her. She could reach up between Regina's thighs and pull the panties to the side. She could touch Regina and give her what she deserved, or at least what she was owed.

“Then maybe I need to remind you why I marked you in the first place,” Regina started. “Should I add a few more letters?”

Regina looked down as Emma sat on the table beneath her. She saw long blonde locks flow under the hem of her cover up, but she couldn't see a face. She could, however, feel a face.

Emma pulled the panties to the side and breathed on Regina's exposed sex.

Regina's breath hitched as she brought the duster closer to her and away from the fan, though she didn't bring her arm back to her side.

Emma extended her neck a bit and licked between Regina's folds with the flat of her tongue.

Regina slowly closed her eyes and lowered the duster further. Within a few seconds, her arm was down at her side and not long after, she let go of the duster. It fell onto the table by her right foot. She didn't care. She didn't even notice it as Emma's hands gripped her inner thighs, close to her sex, and flicked the tip of her tongue over her opening.

“Tease,” Regina rasped out.

Emma grinned then hummed as delved the tip of her tongue inside Regina. She quickly removed it and heard the woman above her groan.

“That's me being a tease,” Emma continued to grin as she corrected Regina, though she didn't poke her head out from between the woman's legs.

“You owe me,” Regina slowly, throatily said.

“Why do you think I'm down here,” Emma said before she pushed Regina's thighs apart and forced the Mayor to slide on the table.

Regina's heels left scuff marks as she moved then landed directly on Emma's tongue.

Emma licked a circle around Regina's opening then pushed her tongue inside it.

Regina became wet as she contentedly sighed.

Emma wriggled her tongue around as she pushed further inside then twisted it side to side before she removed it.

Regina parted her lips and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Miss Swan,” she warned.

Emma licked her way up to Regina's clit and gently bit the bundle of nerves.

Regina moaned and lowered herself further onto Emma. She bit her bottom lip as Emma licked then sucked her clit as her right hand traveled up her thigh.

Emma thrust three fingers into Regina without warning and Regina kicked her feet out from under herself.

The brunette scuffed the table further as she brought herself to her knees and forced Emma to lay on her back on top of the table. In the process, she carelessly knocked the duster to the floor.

Blonde curls cascaded between her legs as she sat on Emma's face. She leaned forward as Emma started a quick pace pumping in and out of her and gripped the edge of the table on either side of Emma's hair.

Regina shot her eyes open when Emma licked then kissed her clit. Quickly after, she bit and caused the brunette to tense and wince. She gripped tighter on the edge of the table and grunted as she pushed down on Emma's fingers during every inward thrust.

Emma raked her free hand down Regina's backside. She reached up and dragged her nails down smooth skin under the panties and made Regina moan.

Regina arched her back and stuck out her backside to get a harder touch from the Sheriff. She started to pant as she worked up a small sweat. When Emma caressed her sensitive and swollen clit with her tongue, she white-knuckled the edge of the table, dripping wet.

With a few more rough plunges into the Mayor, Emma pulled completely out of her.

Regina whimpered and moved against Emma's mouth as her lips and tongue still played with her clit. She bit her lip as she tried to make herself come by Emma's mouth alone, but she wanted the blonde to fill her. Emma had started something Regina then desperately wanted her to finish.

Emma slid out from Regina to breathe and teasingly ran her index finger over Regina's clit, her mouth no longer on it.

Regina angrily sighed.

“Finish,” she barked at Emma.

Emma slipped a single finger inside Regina and kept it still.

Regina shook her head and took it upon herself to ride it since Emma wasn't going to do anything.

“I don't think so,” Emma said as she reached around and clawed at Regina's lower back.

She pulled Regina down onto her finger and added a second one, but didn't move them as she held Regina still.

“I don't like to be short changed, Miss Swan,” Regina breathlessly growled.

Emma smirked and chuckled before she turned her head the slightest bit and licked up the apex of Regina's left thigh.

Regina softly moaned then yelped when Emma sunk her teeth in.

Emma slowly curled her fingers inside Regina as she released the Mayor's thigh. She licked where she bit then trapped the skin between her teeth again as she moved down the thigh, away from Regina's center.

“How badly do you want me to finish right now,” Emma smugly asked when she stopped biting.

“I could hurt you if you don't finish!”

Emma chuckled.

“What would you do to get me to make you come?”

“This,” Regina hissed as she let go of the table with one hand and grabbed a fist full of blonde tresses.

She wrapped a good amount of Emma's hair around her wrist and tried to yank the blonde out from under her.

Emma yelped but quickly stuck her neck out and mercilessly bit Regina's clit.

“Ah,” Regina exclaimed as she pulled Emma's hair harder and squeezed her eyes shut tight.

The brunette curled her body over Emma even more as she felt her clit throb between Emma's strong teeth.

“Let. Go!”

Emma pulled her fingers out of Regina and kept her teeth clamped down on Regina's clit.

“Miss Swan!”

Regina loosened her hold on Emma's hair.

The blonde started to relax again, but didn't ease up on the Mayor. Once Regina let go of her hair completely and gripped the edge of the table with both hands again, she thrust three fingers into the woman.

Regina moaned and grunted but soon after, relaxed.

Emma let go of her clit and started to pump in and out of Regina at a vigorous pace.

Regina took a few seconds to calm down from the unexpected pain before she moved with Emma again.

Emma dug her nails into Regina's backside again and slowly dragged them down Regina's outer right thigh. She left red scratch marks and drew a little blood that quickly clotted when it reached the surface.

Regina bit her bottom lip and sped up her pace against Emma's fingers.

Emma didn't slow down, but she didn't speed up to match Regina either. She let the Mayor do most of the work and focused on getting deeper inside the woman. She pushed far enough that she buried her knuckles inside her.

Regina moaned and tightened her walls around Emma's fingers.

Emma knew as well as Regina that she was close. She pulled herself under Regina and settled between the woman's thighs before she licked Regina's clit.

Regina held back her next moan and trapped it in her throat. She softly whimpered when Emma sucked the sore, red bundle of nerves.

Emma twisted her fingers like a screwdriver inside Regina on the next couple of inward thrusts. She continued to push deep inside the Mayor as she did and within seconds, felt the dam break.

Regina gripped the table as tight as she possibly could, her knuckles deathly white, as she reached her climax. She came violently, more painfully than she'd ever done before, and panted as she relaxed onto her forearms.

She rested her forehead on her hands as she let go of the table and made a fist with one hand then cupped it with the other.

Emma flicked her tongue over Regina's clit one last time before she wiggled down to Regina's opening and lapped up her release. She tasted Regina for a couple minutes, determined not to miss a single spot as the woman above her shuddered in ecstasy.

When Emma finished, she pulled herself up the table and stared at Regina.

Regina continued to pant as she slowly opened her eyes. She sat up on her knees, no longer on her forearms, and let out a heavy sigh. She made a fist and raised her arm before she struck Emma's cheek with a right hook.

Emma's head whipped to her right on impact. Within seconds, she felt the sting from the punch and touched her face.

“Damn,” Emma said as she cringed at her own light touch.

“Don't _ever_ bite me like that again or I'll do far worse,” Regina bitterly warned before she rolled onto her back beside Emma.

Emma grunted as she fluidly rolled onto her side to completely face Regina.

“You liked it,” Emma spat as she continued to touch her left cheek, her face scrunched up as she tried to adjust to the pain.

She felt something warm trickle from her bottom lip to her fingers and pulled back to inspect her hand. She saw blood on her fingertips and groaned.

“Great. Now I'm gonna have to cover that up,” Emma complained.

Regina turned her head and looked over Emma's face. The blonde still glistened in some places with remnants of her.

The brunette sighed as she rolled onto her side and leaned in. She took Emma's jaw between her thumb and index finger to hold the younger woman still. She licked Emma's chin then sucked it clean before she moved up to Emma's nose and did the same. She pressed the pad of her thumb to Emma's bottom lip and separated it from the top before she licked the blood from the corner of the Sheriff's mouth.

Emma reached around Regina's right thigh and wrapped her hand around the woman's inner thigh. She pulled Regina's leg closer to her as she leaned in the rest of the way and pressed her lips against Regina's. She sweetly, softly kissed the brunette and tasted the Mayor all over again, that time mixed with her own blood.

She appreciatively hummed as Regina kissed back with more passion and heat. She felt the older woman's tongue slip past her lips and explore the depths of her hot mouth.

Regina tasted herself even more than she had on the Sheriff's face as she kissed Emma, but kept it short. She pulled back and purred before she slowly opened her eyes. She watched Emma in a state of calm and grinned.

Emma opened her eyes and immediately locked them with the familiar dark brown pair.

“I'd like that massage now,” Regina said in a low, sultry tone full of pleasure and satisfaction.

“You didn't even clean the apartment.”

“Dear, I could work on this apartment all day for an entire month and it still wouldn't be clean. I may not disappoint, but I can't perform miracles.”

Emma bit her lip and felt a rush of unhinged emotions inside her.

“I like it when you call me 'dear',” she confessed.

Regina wickedly grinned.

“You do,” Regina stated though there was a hint of a question buried within her tone.

“Have you called anyone else by that,” Emma asked out of curiosity.

“Not in long time.”

_Not since I brought on the curse,_ Regina thought.

“Why do you call me that?”

“It's not a term of endearment when I use it if that's what you're wondering.”

“No. That's not what I was thinking.”

“Then what are you thinking, Sheriff?”

Emma hesitated. Suddenly, she realized where her head was at and forced it to overrule her heart.

“I'm thinking about how I'm gonna fuck you over the counter before I give you that massage.”

“Someone's confident. What makes you think I'd agree to that?”

“Who said anything about you agreeing,” Emma suggestively raised an eyebrow before she shot up into a sitting position.

Regina reached out and grabbed Emma's arm before the blonde could slid off the table.

Emma looked over her shoulder at Regina as the brunette rolled onto her back a second time.

“What time is it,” Regina asked.

Emma looked at the kitchen clock.

“A little after two.”

“I need to get going soon. We'll only have time for one and I'm in favor of that massage.”

Emma sighed in defeat and frowned.

Regina grinned as she slowly sat up then placed a hand on Emma's upper right thigh.

“Next time, dear,” she purred in Emma's ear.

Regina set her feet on the floor and briefly lifted her backside off the edge of the table. She grabbed the hem of her cover up and peeled it off.

“I have the apple scented oil in the bucket with the cleaning supplies,” Regina told Emma as she discarded the thin material.

She reached behind herself and unhooked her bra. She did Emma a small favor and removed it completely, unlike last time. Though she told herself it was only to motivate the younger woman to fetch the oil for her, nothing more.

Emma bit her bottom as she stared at Regina's firm breasts. She met Regina's gaze again and got off the table. She went to the kitchen and reached into the bucket. She retrieved the oil and came back to Regina.

Regina lay bare breasted on her stomach on the dining room table in only her stockings, high heels, and panties, which then completely covered her sex. She rested her head on her arms folded and crossed under her right temple and cheekbone. She stared straight at Emma.

Emma stopped at the table and stared down at Regina.

“What,” the blonde asked.

“Nothing.”

“That face doesn't say 'nothing'.”

“Just give me the damn massage.”

“Fine,” Emma sighed as she climbed onto the table and straddled the backs of Regina's thighs.

Emma squeezed out a decent amount of oil and rubbed it between her hands before she spread it over Regina's back.

“How long until you have to go,” Emma asked as she rubbed Regina's shoulders.

“Twenty minutes.”

“Okay. I think I can get all your sore spots by then. Where do you feel the most tension?”

“Lower and mid-back,” Regina answered as she closed her eyes and relaxed under Emma's touch.

“Here,” Emma asked as she ran her hands down to the center of Regina's back, where the band of her bra once hugged the skin.

“Mm. Yes,” Regina moaned.

The apartment quickly smelled like apples as Emma worked on the tense area. The oil warmed upon contact with Regina's skin and both women felt the heat between the blonde's hands and the brunette's back.

Regina sighed as she felt the tension fade with every push of Emma's hands. Her mind started to cloud as she slowly opened her eyes halfway. Purple swirled around her pupils as her ring started to glow on her finger.

Magic.

She felt her magic flow through her. She couldn't explain it, but she'd felt it before with Emma. It was how she broke the table in the study. She'd felt the magic boil to the surface until she couldn't contain the power she felt within herself. Though the table had been nowhere near her foot, when she kicked under Emma, the table had cracked in half.

Regina didn't feel her magic boil as Emma massaged her, but she felt a lot of stifled power buried within her.

Emma spread her legs apart and pressed her jean-clad center against the start of Regina's backside at the top of her thighs.

Though Regina thought she did it unintentionally or to make herself more comfortable, she started to feel her skin heat up. The purple that swirled in her eyes started to spark and flash.

Her breath hitched when Emma moved her hands back and forth between both tense spots she'd identified on her back. She dug her nails into her left arm below her right hand as she felt a surge of magic course threw her veins.

The familiar heat of magic as it started to boil up to the surface hit Regina like the punch she'd given Emma earlier.

“Lower,” she moaned.

Emma did as Regina commanded, oblivious to what Regina felt, though she felt the heat emanate from the brunette as she continued to massage her.

Emma pressed her thumbs into Regina's lower back as they brushed against Regina's panty line. She moved her thumbs up and down a couple times then moved them in circles. She worked them in opposite directions just below the dimples on Regina's lower back, her other fingers wrapped around Regina's hips.

Regina moaned as another surge of magic shot through her like zap of electricity. She felt the moisture between her legs and closed her purple eyes. Her breathing quickened and she tried to fight it.

“No,” she breathlessly said no louder than a whisper.

“Is everything okay,” Emma asked as she questioned Regina's overly blissful state.

She couldn't feel the Mayor's arousal through her own jeans, but she could tell something was different with the woman.

“No,” Regina said louder. “My shoulders. Go back to my shoulders.”

As much as she wanted Emma to keep working on her lower back, she couldn't risk exposing her magic to the skeptical Sheriff.

Emma frowned by obliged as she ran her hands up Regina's back until she reached her shoulders. She felt a spark between her hands and Regina's skin the entire way and furrowed her brow.

Thankfully for Regina, Emma hadn't seen the purple lightning crackle from her back to the younger woman's hands. As it happened, Emma had already directed her attention at the brunette's face.

Emma slowly inhaled as she felt a transfer of energy from Regina to herself. It flowed from her hands up to her neck then traveled down to the pit of her stomach. During its' descent, her nipples hardened.

“What the f-f-fuck,” Emma slowly whispered as she closed her eyes.

Without realizing it, Emma moved up Regina's body to straddle her hips then started to grind against the brunette.

Regina moaned in crescendo as she opened her eyes, clouded with an intense plum color.

“Miss Swan,” Regina softly pleaded. “Stop. ...I can't.”

“You're doing this to me,” Emma said. “I can't stop.”

Her body felt like it was on fire. Emma didn't feel like herself. She didn't even know where the words that slipped past her lips had come from, but she'd said them.

“It's going to happen,” Regina told herself out loud as she felt the warmth and need between her legs grow. “I'm going to...”

Regina trailed off as she thought about Emma touching her where she ached most. Within seconds, Emma leaned over, her hair on Regina's back, and reached between them before she pulled aside Regina's panties.

Regina bit her lip until she drew blood as the magic nearly exploded from her. Instead of exploding magic, she felt the wetness increase in her folds.

Apples and the musky aroma of her magic filled the room. Regina started to worry, but the more magic she felt start to surface, the less aware of her surroundings she became.

Regina got onto all fours like her body was on autopilot.

Emma slid off the brunette as she felt Regina get up. She positioned herself on her knees behind the Mayor and effortlessly slipped fingers inside her.

“Uhn,” Regina moaned as she looked down at the table then closed her eyes.

Regina quickly pushed against the table and ran herself backward into Emma's fingers. She lurched forward to remove them then slid back against them. She repeated the motions over and over again as she increased the speed every few thrusts. She bent her fingers at the knuckles and pressed her fingertips into the table as though she were digging her nails into it.

Her ring glowed on her left hand as she moved against Emma's slender fingers. Just as if she were coming, she felt her magic build up before release.

“I'm...” Regina trailed off as she could barely think.

Emma moaned as she felt the dampness in her own panties. She was on fire, her skin hot to the touch as she couldn't tell one thing from the other. She felt like she had a fever that had spread from her head to every part of her body.

Regina couldn't catch her breath. She squeezed her eyes shut as her walls tightened around Emma's fingers.

“I'm...” Regina panted seconds before she opened her eyes. “Em _...Ahhh!”_

Emma fell forward and laid her hand over Regina's. Her middle finger touched the ring and her eyes shot open like Regina's had only moments prior.

Suddenly, the purple drained from Regina's eyes as energy flowed from the ring into Emma's arm.

That energy, that magic, went straight to Emma's eyes as they flooded with purple clouds and sparks.

Emma's jaw dropped as she felt it and laced her fingers with Regina's, her hand still covering the brunette's, as she came herself. She hadn't even needed to be touched down there as she came undone. Whatever had transpired between her and the Mayor had been enough.

Regina collapsed as Emma moaned through her release. Her hand slipped a ways out from under Emma's and the blonde lost contact with the ring.

The purple faded from Emma's eyes as she removed her fingers from Regina and fell on top of the brunette.

Regina continued to pant, eyes closed and on her stomach. The tension had left her body and she had started to come down from her high. She felt Emma's head on her shoulder blades, long blonde hair trapped between their bodies as it prickled at her lower back when either of them inhaled.

“Regina,” Emma breathlessly whispered in a question.

“Hmm.”

“What...was that?”

“Good,” she huskily answered after a moment.

Regina slowly started to open her eyes as the haziness left her brain. She moaned then turned it into a hum as she slowly rolled onto her back, careful not to throw Emma off her as she continued to feel the blissful buzz from her climax. At least, that's what she contributed her kindness to, the bliss she felt from what had happened moments ago.

Emma moved with her until she maneuvered her hips between Regina's spread legs. She laid flat against Regina's front and rested her head on the brunette's chest with a contented sigh.

“I have to go, dear,” Regina said in a low tone, somewhat sleepy.

“Just a few more minutes,” Emma said as she closed her eyes.

“I can't,” Regina said as she gently tried to push Emma off her.

“Please,” Emma tiredly asked.

Regina took a deep breath and released it in a sigh as she ran her fingers through Emma's silky curls.

“Okay. Five minutes,” she agreed as she felt too weak to even sit up.

Regina closed her eyes as Emma's breathing slowed and steadied. She could feel the blonde start to fall asleep.

Emma let Regina's heartbeat carry her away to a dream state, but she didn't dream. She blacked out instead and enjoyed the best sleep of her life no matter how long it had lasted.

Regina kept a hand in Emma's hair, but didn't move it as she drifted off to the feel of Emma's chest rise and fall against her. She floated in and out of consciousness as she tried to fight sleep and eventually won. 

She blinked her eyes open a few times before she looked down at the blonde, still comfortable and fast asleep on top of her. She craned her neck to check the time on the kitchen clock and frowned. Ten minutes had passed since she'd agreed to stay.

Slowly, Regina propped herself up on her elbows. She balanced all her weight on one arm as she reached forward and shook the blonde's shoulder.

Emma hummed as she started to stir. She pushed against the table and rested a majority of her weight on her forearms. She looked up at Regina, the woman's breasts almost in her face.

“What time is it,” Emma hazily asked.

“Time to get up,” Regina said as she bucked her hips into Emma. “Come on.”

“I don't want to get up. I like it here. Right here. In this moment.”

“If I tell you something, will you get up?”

“Depends,” Emma eyed her suspiciously. “What would you tell me?”

“Something nice.”

“You're capable of saying nice things,” Emma asked like that bit of information surprised her.

Regina rolled her eyes.

“Yes, but don't get used to it if I say it. ...Do you agree to get up if I tell you?”

Emma stared at Regina for a moment as she thought about it. After a few seconds, she nodded.

“You're beautiful.”

“What?”

“That's what I was going to say earlier, before the massage.”

“When you were staring at me?”

“Yes.”

“You...you think I'm beautiful?”

Regina tucked a strand of hair behind Emma's ear with her left hand.

“One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life.”

“But you hate me. How can you think I'm beautiful?”

“Sometimes it's the fairest things in all the land that inspire the most angst and hate. Now you've got to get up.”

“Wait, _because_ they're the 'fairest', as you put it?”

Regina shook her head.

“Not necessarily, dear. At times, it's what they say or do...if it's a person. It's how they hurt you that makes you angry, but they just so happen to be pretty so you hate them all the more for it, especially if you don't see yourself that way. Let's go. Get up.”

“I might still be out of it, but...if you think I'm beautiful then that makes you drop dead gorgeous,” Emma admitted.

Regina flashed a smile twisted between happy and guilty before she made it disappear.

“Thank you,” Regina said.

Emma pushed off the table and sat up. She pulled away from Regina and allowed the brunette to perch herself on the edge of the table.

Emma slid completely off the table and picked up Regina's coat. She set it on the table and turned to walk away, but Regina grabbed her by the arm and spun her back around.

She didn't say anything as she stared at Emma and pulled her close. She forced Emma to stand between her legs and kissed her. She didn't wait long before she slithered her tongue across Emma's bottom lip and silently asked for entry.

Emma granted her access without hesitation as she wrapped her arms around Regina's neck, bent at the elbows as she rested her forearms against Regina's shoulders. She gripped a fistful of short brunette hair in her hand and brushed her nails against Regina's scalp along the way.

Emma pulled Regina closer, crashing their lips together hard for their next kiss, as she pressed her left hand against the base of Regina's neck.

Regina hummed as she grabbed Emma's hips and pushed the younger woman back a few steps. She broke their kiss and licked her lips immediately after as she sighed. She let go of Emma and avoided eye contact as she slid off the table.

“I need to go,” Regina said as she put on her coat.

Emma nervously bit her bottom lip.

“Did I do something wrong,” she asked.

“No, dear,” Regina quickly answered as she picked the feather duster off the floor, took the forgotten massage oil from the opposite end of the table, and walked over to the bucket in the kitchen.

She still hadn't looked at Emma.

“Regina,” Emma said as she followed her to the island.

Regina dumped the feather duster and massage oil into the bucket with the unused supplies then tried to lift the bucket from the counter top.

Emma grabbed Regina's wrist and stopped her.

“What just happened?”

Regina finally looked into green eyes.

“You're so beautiful,” she whispered as she ran the back of her fingers down Emma's check.

She looked at the bruise that had started to form on the other side of Emma's face and pulled her hand away from the blonde's cheek. She leaned in and chastely kissed her left cheekbone, the one that would turn three shades darker with purple and blue the next morning.

Emma let go of Regina's wrist and watched the older woman bolt from the apartment. She frowned as she suddenly started to worry about the brunette.

_Worry,_ Emma internally asked herself.  _Why? It's not like she worries about me._

But as Regina rushed out of the building, she scolded herself for listening to the girl's words, even scolded herself for almost calling her by her first name during climax.

“ _If I'm beautiful then you're drop dead gorgeous.”_

_You can't possibly believe that,_ Regina told herself.  _It would be foolish and weak. You have to break her. Crush her heart, her poor, unsuspecting heart._

With every last thought about ruining Emma Swan, the truth thrashed around in the back of her mind.

_It'll be much harder to break her if you start to feel for her._

Regina threw herself into her Mercedes and carelessly tossed the bucket of cleaning supplies aside. Her door firmly shut, she yelled at the top of her lungs as she clutched the steering wheel.

_You can't_ feel _! You don't care. You're bitter with a black heart. Rip it out and prove that bitch right. It's as black as coal and it'll always be that way._

As she berated herself, she could have sworn she heard her mother's voice in her head. She heard her mother agree with every single syllable she thought.

She shook her head and eased up on her death grip on the wheel. She took out her keys and jammed them into the ignition before she peeled out of the parking lot and went back to work.

 


	16. Chapter 16

_She stared into soulful blue eyes and smiled. She felt hopeful and inspired. She was in love. No one could tell her otherwise and no one could tear them apart._

_They were ready to run. They shared a kiss then clasped their hands together when they broke apart._

_The two of them started to rush off, but before they made it past the stable entrance, Regina's mother stood before them. She didn't look pleased._

“ _You could have at least left a note.”_

_With a wave of her hands, Cora magically flew the couple back into the stables and closed both sets of doors behind her as she callously entered after them._

_She wouldn't even let her daughter explain. She stepped inside the stable and looked between the man and Regina. She shook her head whenever Regina tried to speak._

_Regina was as unsatisfied as her mother and pushed. She told the woman the only thing she'd be able to do was keep her and Daniel in the stable forever, that she wouldn't live the life Cora wanted because she was in love. Cora's magic couldn't keep them apart._

_After a couple minutes of finally listening to the girl, she sighed and started to accept what she'd heard. She stepped closer to the stable boy and smiled at Regina after she embraced her daughter in a hug long enough to get the girl out of the way._

_Regina fell back, foolishly allowing her mother all too close to her true love under false pretenses. She smiled as she watched her mother exchange a few words with the stable boy then watched his eyes widen._

“ _Mother!”_

_Cora had punched a grabbing hand through the stable boy's chest and kept it there as she tightened her grip on his heart. Not long after, she yanked it right out of his body and held it in her hands._

_He collapsed._

“ _No,” Regina cried as she ran to him. “No!”_

_Cora crushed the heart in her gloved hand with a tight jaw, her eyes filled with disappointment._

“ _Daniel!”_

_Regina swept him into her arms. She began to cry as she felt his weight press down on her, his eyes closed and body cold._

“ _Mother, why have you done this,” Regina frantically asked as she looked up at the woman._

“ _Because this is your happy ending.”_

“ _What?”_

_She shook her head and looked back down at Daniel. She brought his lips to hers. She kissed him in hopes that true love would prevail._

_It didn't._

“ _You have to trust me, Regina. I know best.”_

_The disappointment in her eyes turned to a nostalgic sadness as she remembered her own tragic love story and tried to convince her daughter getting rid of Daniel was the right thing._

“ _Love is weakness, Regina. It feels real now, at the start it always does...but it's an illusion. It fades and then you're left with nothing. But power...true power...endures. And then you don't have to rely on anyone to get what you want.”_

_Regina tried to even out of her breathing as the tears stopped gushing out of her. She looked just above Daniel's head and took a moment to collect herself before she looked up at her mother._

“ _I've saved you, my love.”_

“ _You've ruined everything,” Regina bitterly said as she glared at the woman that dared to stand over her in a mightier-than-thou presence. “I loved him.”_

_When the words didn't show much of an effect on her mother, she yelled._

“ _I loved him!”_

“ _Enough!”_

_Cora looked frazzled. She couldn't seem to handle the truth her daughter spoke._

“ _I've endured this long enough,” Cora said as she grabbed Regina's arm and pulled her onto her feet._

_She dragged her daughter away from the fallen stable boy as she continued._

“ _Now clean yourself up, wipe away your tears because now...you're going to be Queen.”_

_Her voice had boomed with authority, but as she informed her daughter of her future, her tone had become low and raspy. She sounded like a nightmare you couldn't wake up from, something that would surely kill you and do it slowly as it seeped into your blood and bones. It would suffocate your soul until it consumed you from the inside out. It would turn you cold and black. You'd be nothing but darkness and pain, a shell of your former self._

_Suddenly, the scene changed and Regina had magic. She burst out of mother's magical hold on her as her blood boiled in a beautiful but restricting white dress. A wedding dress designed for royalty. She felt her life slip away, out of her control. She threw out her arms and flew her mother across the room._

_Cora grabbed the edges of the mirror Rumpelstiltskin had given Regina and tried not to fall through the glass as it flowed like water behind her. A force inside the mirror grasped her and pulled the older woman inside it. The glass shattered and Regina turned her back to shield herself from the debris._

_She went to Rumpelstiltskin and asked to learn magic, how to have power and control it. Over time, she turned dark. No longer the lovestruck, innocent girl that believed in true love and happy endings, she crushed an unsuspecting woman's heart as the brown haired stranger tried to take her place as Rumpel's student._

_Her wardrobe was all black and mostly consisted of leather. The day she crushed her first human heart without hesitation, she wore leather pants and a tight black bodice with a flared out black coat, the outfit complete with leather gloves. Not only had her clothes lost their color, but her makeup had thickened until her eyes were masked with black eyeliner and heavy mascara. She wore her hair in various up-does and didn't bother to let her lengthy mane flow down her back as it once had in a simpler, more hopeful time._

_Then, she saw green eyes stare up at her. They were soulful and filled with a familiarity the owner of those eyes couldn't possibly know they possessed in them. It was something only Regina could see and something only Regina could hate. It was a reminder of what she'd lost those many years ago._

_Her body heated up with rage as she looked into the blonde's eyes._

_Emma._

_Green eyes reflected what she'd seen in blue eyes in her youth, before everything was taken from her._

“ _If I'm beautiful then you're drop dead gorgeous,” Emma told her._

_Regina yelled like she had when she'd thrown her mother into the mirror. She pushed the blonde off her and Emma crashed onto the floor with a confused look._

_Regina towered over her like she was prey and in Regina's mind, the younger woman was just that. With every ounce of hate, pain, and anger, she came down on top of Emma and punched her. She punched her once then twice and another time after that before she grabbed a fistful of blonde tresses._

_She yanked Emma to her feet by her hair and ran her face first into the nearest wall. She pushed herself flush against Emma's back and wrapped blonde hair around her wrist, as she'd done once before, and turned the younger woman's head to the left so she could see Emma's wide, green eyes._

_Regina panted against the side of Emma's face and growled in the blonde's ear._

“ _You're not him.”_

“ _What?!”_

_Emma panted as hard as Regina, but not only did the blonde seem shocked, she also seemed fearful._

“ _You'll never be him. I could_ never _love you.”_

“ _I never asked you to,” Emma choked out._

“ _But you're making me_ feel _things,” Regina bitterly said as she pressed Emma further against the wall. “Miss Swan.”_

_Emma tried to take a deep breath, but Regina wouldn't allow her._

_Regina tightly latched onto the waistband of tight denim and harshly tugged it downward, bringing the Sheriff's panties with it. She forced herself to stretch the material over Emma's backside as she shoved the younger woman's chest into the wall._

_Emma could barely breath. She squeezed her eyes shut through the pain each labored breath caused her._

_With the jeans around Emma's thighs, Regina had free range of the one place she wanted to hurt Emma most. She thrust three fingers into Emma and made the blonde scream. She pushed far inside the Sheriff's sex until the web of her fingers touched the woman's folds._

_Emma clawed at the wall and winced._

_Regina pulled them away from the wall as she held Emma's center and ass in the palm of her hand. She yanked Emma backward with the hand inside her and pushed her onto the ground with the other._

_Emma lay face down under Regina, a fist still tightly set in her hair._

_Regina got on her knees between Emma's legs and pushed them outward. They brushed Emma's thighs before she violently forced Emma's legs a good distance apart._

“ _Bend your knees,” Regina barked._

“ _Regina-”_

“ _Do it!”_

_Regina untangled her hand from Emma's hair and used it to painfully smack Emma's bare ass._

_The jeans stretched as Emma bent her knees and evenly leveled them with her chest against the hardwood floor._

_Regina quickly pulled her fingers out of Emma only to aggressively push four back in._

_Emma yelped and tried to escape Regina's hold._

“ _Where do you think you're going,” Regina stated more than asked as her eyes turned black as coal._

_Regina started a rapid pace with her fingers as she thrust all four as far into Emma as she had the first time._

“ _Ah. Stop. Regina! Please,” Emma begged. “You're hurting me.”_

“ _Good,” she said in a raspy voice no different that her mother's after she'd killed Daniel._

_Regina grinned as she punched her way in and out of Emma._

“ _Please,” Emma started to cry. “Regina!”_

_Regina sharply raked her nails down Emma's back then ran them upward. She pushed up Emma's shirt and revealed the angry red marks she left behind, blood clotting at the surface of each scratch._

“ _I'm going to tear you apart,” Regina hungrily growled._

_Regina leaned over Emma and pushed aside her long, unruly hair. She bit down on Emma's neck and caused the younger woman to shriek._

“ _Re...Regina,” Emma breathlessly pleaded._

_Regina bit down harder before she released Emma's skin._

“ _Not Regina,” she darkly started to correct the younger woman. “Your Majesty.”_

_A tear stained Emma's cheek as it rolled down her face._

“ _I'll do anything to get you to stop,” Emma weakly offered._

“ _Anything,” Regina asked with interest as she twisted her fingers deep inside Emma._

_Emma yelped and cringed as she lifted her backside into the air and toward Regina._

“ _Yes. Anything,” Emma softly said as she continued to cry._

“ _Come for me. Submit to me.”_

_Emma sniffled before she nodded._

“ _Okay. I'm yours. Regina, I'm yours.”_

“Not _Regina,” she barked before she buried her hand inside Emma then curled her fingers against her walls._

_Regina tugged Emma back toward her and heavily breathed on Emma, her face close to Emma's hair and right cheek._

“ _Your Majesty,” Emma squeaked._

“ _Good girl,” Regina devilishly grinned as she slowed her pace and removed her fingers._

_Emma sighed and shuddered as she started to relax, but it didn't last long before she tensed and tightened around three of Regina's fingers._

_Regina slid her fingers inside Emma, but with less force than before and not as fast. She wanted to arouse Emma. It would be the only way to make her come. She needed Emma to give in to her completely and that would only happen if Emma did so intimately._

“ _When you come,” Regina started as her lips brushed against Emma's ear. “I want you to say something for me.”_

“ _What?”_

“ _All hail the Queen.”_

“ _Okay,” Emma whispered._

“ _Now who am I,” Regina asked as she sped up her pace and kissed where she bit Emma earlier._

“ _Your Majesty.”_

“ _What's my title.”_

“ _The Queen. You're the Queen.”_

_Regina quickened her fingers as Emma started to enjoy the feel of them inside her._

“ _What will you do when I'm done with you?”_

“ _Bow to you.”_

“ _To who.”_

“ _The Queen.”_

“ _All together.”_

“ _I will bow to the Queen.”_

“ _That's my girl. Don't forget that, who I am.”_

“ _Never, my Queen,” Emma said as she started to catch on to the brunette's game._

_Regina straddled Emma's lower back, her hand still between them as she made Emma wet with every careful though speedy thrust of her fingers._

“ _And who are you, dear?”_

“ _Emma.”_

“ _No. Not your name. You no longer have a name. You're mine. Say it.”_

“ _I'm yours.”_

“ _My property.”_

“ _Your property.”_

_Regina reached under Emma and tweaked one of her hardening nipples inside her bra._

“ _Say my name,” Regina throatily demanded._

“ _Your Majesty.”_

“ _Say my title.”_

“ _The Queen.”_

“ _Who am I?”_

“ _You're the Queen...Your Majesty.”_

_Regina hummed with a smirk._

“ _That's right. I am the Queen. I will_ always _be the Queen,” she slowly said as she pumped harder into Emma._

_Emma moaned and Regina rewarded her as the brunette swiped the pad of her thumb over her nipple._

“ _Who are you?”_

“ _The Queen's property,” Emma breathlessly replied. “I am the Queen's possession.”_

“ _Do you love me?”_

“ _I...” Emma trailed off as her walls tightened around the Queen's fingers._

“ _Answer me.”_

“ _I...don't.”_

_Regina clenched her jaw and glared down at Emma._

“ _Then we'll have to remedy that, won't we dear. When I'm through with you, you'll love me, but I'll never love you. You'll offer me your precious heart. Then...I'll crush it with my bare hand.”_

_Emma whimpered as Regina twisted her fingers then violently pinched her nipple._

“ _And why will I do that,” Regina asked as she baited Emma._

“ _Because you're the Queen.”_

“ _Yes.”_

“ _The_ Evil _Queen.”_

_Regina's lips parted and she went from angry to sad._

_Her mother was evil. She never wanted to be evil. She never wanted to be her mother._

_She fought the debilitating emotion and wrapped her hand around one of Emma's wrists and held it behind the blonde's back. She moved her entire body as she punched her way inside the younger woman._

_Emma yelled and squeezed her eyes shut, though the pain still managed to turn her on. Her walls tightened again and she was on the edge of her release._

“ _Who are you,” Regina grudgingly asked._

“ _I'm...” Emma struggled to speak, so close to climax. “I'm the Savior!”_

_Regina's eyes widened as she pieced together the puzzle. It made sense. Time had started moving again when she decided to stay in Storybrooke. The realization almost made her stop what she was doing, but Emma tightened around her again then let go._

“ _All hail the Queen!”_

Regina shot up into a sitting position as a sheen of sweat covered her forehead as well as the rest of her body. She panted, eyes wide, as she ran a hand through her short brunette hair.

She took a moment to let it sink in. Her subconscious had been extremely revealing. She'd been the Mayor for a long time. Twenty-eight years. She hadn't responded to her title since the curse.

She never even wanted to be the Queen, but she'd embraced it after she accepted her unhappiness. She didn't think she'd ever feel like she had with Daniel again so she crushed hearts as well as collected them. She built up a vault full like her mother had and in time, followed in the wicked woman's footsteps. Cora had started a vicious cycle.

 _I am Queen._ The _Queen,_ Regina thought as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. _I was always the Queen._

“ _You were never the Mayor.”_

She heard her mother's voice in her head.

“ _How could you lose sight of that, Regina. Have you not learned anything? You_ are _the Queen. Start acting like it.”_

Regina stood and took a few steps toward the mirror in the master bathroom. She crossed the room to stand in front of it.

“ _Love is weakness, dear. Be Emma's weakness and you'll rid yourself of three problems, the Savior, the mother of your son, and your revenge on Snow White. You can have everything you want. You can finally have the life you want, but you have to kill her. Degrade that little harlot until you destroy her. It's the only way you can be happy.”_

“I never wanted to be the Queen. I didn't have to be the Queen to get what I wanted. I just wanted to be happy,” Regina softly said to her own worn reflection.

“ _But you became the Queen. There was no escaping your fate, Regina. Everything I did was to make you who you are. Don't let me down. I know you have it in you. Wasn't that what you just dreamed? To act like the Queen?”_

Cora, in her head, paused as if waiting for an answer that she didn't get. 

“ _Well, make it reality.”_

Regina took a deep breath as a tear fell down her cheek. She looked down at the counter and grabbed her brush. She coiled her fingers around the handle and squeezed before she eased up a little then raised her arm.

She looked at herself in the mirror one last time before she threw the brush at it.

The mirror shattered into large shards of fractured glass and Regina could no longer see her own face. The voice in her head didn't say another word and she took another deep breath as she wiped away her tears.

She turned and went back to her bed. She got under the covers and stared up at the ceiling.

“The Savior,” she whispered.

She didn't sleep the rest of the night.

“ _Still coming over?”_

“ _That's the deal, is it not, Miss Swan?”_

“ _It is.”_

“ _Then I'll be there.”_

“ _Can I ask you to wear something?”_

“ _Again, isn't that part of the deal?”_

“ _Yep. Just wanted to make sure.”_

“ _We're not friends. If we have a deal and you want something from me, take it.”_

“ _Ooh, Madame Mayor. I hope you remember that when you stop by for lunch.”_

Emma waited for a response as she spent her morning at the station texting Regina. After a few minutes, Regina finally replied.

“ _What do you want me to wear?”_

“ _A dress.”_

“ _What kind of dress?”_

“ _I don't know. A dress!”_

“ _Black, red, long, short... Give me something to work with, Sheriff.”_

“ _Red. Um, I think the correct term is evening gown?”_

“ _That's a floor length dress.”_

“ _Then that's the one.”_

“ _Preference for straps? Size, cut?”_

“ _I didn't even know if I was saying the name of the dress right and you think I'm gonna have a preference on that?”_

“ _Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to.”_

“ _Are you even at work? I would think the Mayor had more to do than text the Sheriff.”_

“ _Not today. Well, I'm actually in a meeting, but it's boring.”_

“ _Uh huh. What kind of meeting?”_

“ _An important one.”_

“ _One on one meeting or council meeting you failed to tell me about?”_

“ _I never fail to tell you anything you need to know. The next meeting is in a few days. I was going to talk to about it today.”_

“ _Sure you were.”_

“ _Heels?”_

“ _Whatever height you want.”_

“ _Any preference on the color of my underwear?”_

“ _Matching.”_

“ _Black?”_

“ _Seems appropriate enough.”_

“ _I also have red.”_

“ _Hmm. Well now I can't decide.”_

“ _Better make up your mind before I head over.”_

“ _Is it almost that time?”_

“ _Two o'clock, right?”_

“ _Yeah.”_

“ _It's one forty.”_

“ _I've still got twenty minutes.”_

“ _No, you've got maybe five. I'm leaving in ten so I get there in twenty minutes. Honestly, you have no sense of time, dear.”_

“ _You called me dear. :)”_

“ _If you could see me, I just rolled my eyes.”_

“ _Admit it. You love calling me pet names. Although, just for fun I'd like to hear you say my first name for once.”_

“ _Not going to happen.”_

“ _Not even if I give you the best sex of your life?”_

“ _That's a hard thing to promise, Miss Swan. Hard to accomplish.”_

“ _I doubt it. With my skills? Please, I'd leave you craving more.”_

“ _Cocky, are we?”_

“ _I could be. Just give me some time to go to a sex shop.”_

“ _Still waiting on that decision.”_

“ _You didn't tell me if you wanted me to pick one up!”_

“ _And you haven't told me red or black.”_

“ _I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours. ;)”_

“ _I wouldn't mind a toy or two, but for another time. A time when I'm not cleaning your horrendous apartment.”_

“ _Red.”_

“ _See you in a few minutes, Sheriff.”_

“ _Fuck you in a few minutes, Mayor.”_

Emma set down her phone, satisfied with her conversation. She started to grin when her face tightened and she felt a sharp pain shoot across her left cheek. She raised a hand to it and gently touched the concealed bruise with her fingertips.

She sighed and went to the mini-fridge she'd put in the work room. She grabbed an ice pack and held it to her face. She went back into her office with the ice pack pressed to her left cheek and grabbed her car keys from the desk. She grabbed a few files then locked up the station on her way out.

She was able to swing by Granny's on the way to the apartment and smiled at Ruby when she entered the diner.

“Well, look who it is. On time today too,” Ruby teased as she briefly stuck her tongue between her teeth.

“It's just one of those days I've got my act together,” Emma happily played along.

“And in a good mood? My, my. Is someone getting laid?”

Emma laughed.

“Or completely beaten up,” Ruby quickly changed her joking tone to one of concern. “Oh my _god_! What happened to you?”

Without realizing it, the ice pack had smeared Emma's makeup and not all, but enough, of the the bruise could be seen.

“Oh, uh, bar fight. I had to break it up last night. Things got pretty heated.”

“Geez. Who knew this town could be so violent!”

Emma forced a small laugh.

“Yeah, who knew,” the blonde shrugged.

“Right. So you're usual?”

“Yeah, but could I also get a club sandwich?”

“That's a little healthy for your taste.”

“I'm trying to cut back on greasy foods and fats.”

“Then why get your usual? It's the biggest, greasiest burger in town with lots of fat. Plus, that's two meals. _You_ don't even eat that much.”

“I'm saving the sandwich for later. I think I'm gonna be stuck at work late tonight.”

“Alright. If you say so.”

Ruby spun on her heels and headed into the kitchen to make the order.

Emma took a deep breath and sighed as she tapped her fingertips against the counter top. She looked around and saw the lunch rush had died down, not that there really was one in the first place.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed.

“ _On my way. How's the leg?”_

Emma quickly typed out a response.

“ _Still hurts. Though I'm guessing that's not why you were asking.”_

“ _It wasn't.”_

“ _I was in the shower this morning, had to look at it, and remembered just how I got it. Better?”_

Regina took a little longer to respond that time.

“ _Yes, but it's still not what I was looking for.”_

Emma sighed.

“ _You're not going to make this easy for me, are you.”_

“ _Where's the fun in that?”_

Emma didn't know what to say. Thankfully for her, she didn't have to say anything. Regina sent her another text a few seconds later.

“ _Where are you?”_

“ _Getting lunch? Are you at the apartment already?”_

“ _No. I just wanted to know where you were.”_

“ _I can't tell if that was sarcastic.”_

“ _It wasn't.”_

“ _And I'm just supposed to believe you?”_

“ _You could...or you could believe your own eyes.”_

“ _What?”_

“ _Look behind you, out the window.”_

Emma questioningly stared down at her phone for a few seconds after she read the message. Se turned around and saw the black Mercedes parked on the curb across the street from the diner.

Her phone vibrated again and caused the blonde to slightly jump in the stool. She looked down and read the message from none other than Regina.

“ _Meet me around the corner with your car when you're done.”_

Emma parted her lips and looked up to see Regina peel away from the curb. The Mercedes flew down the street and Emma suddenly felt a warm tension between her legs. She bit her bottom lip just as Ruby returned.

“So,” Ruby's voice made Emma noticeably jump as she came out of her reverie. “What's been up with you lately? I haven't seen you outside the diner since our last girls night.”

“Uh, nothing. Just spending time with Henry, working. Boring stuff.”

“We should get together again. You, me, Mary Margaret. What do you say? Another night out?”

“Sure,” Emma agreed after a minute. “When were you thinking?”

“I guess not tonight since you think you'll be busy. Maybe tomorrow?”

“On a Wednesday?”

“Yeah. It's not like we're gonna go club hoping.”

“The only thing I can think of doing on our night out is go to the bar. Why drink into the early morning hours in the middle of the week?”

“Um, hello? Because it's the middle of the week!”

Emma chuckled.

“I see your point. ...Uh, yeah, I guess I could do that. Henry has to be home early tomorrow anyway.”

“Awesome. I'll let Mary Margaret know. She's supposed to be here for a late lunch, early dinner tonight.”

“You'll probably see her before I do.”

“Great. So tomorrow night! We're gonna have a great time.”

“You say that every time.”

“Have I ever been wrong?”

Emma smiled.

“No. No, you haven't.”

Ruby beamed and flashed her sharp teeth.

“Order up,” Granny called from the kitchen. “Oh, hello, Emma.”

Granny waved at Emma.

Though they'd hardly talked, Emma was sure Ruby had told her grandmother plenty about their blossoming friendship. Not to mention being in the diner all the time and hanging around Henry in a small town. Gold was right. People talked.

She waved back at Granny and smiled.

“Hi,” she greeted. “Oh, that bread was fantastic, by the way.”

Granny looked around to see if anyone had looked over at them.

“You mean my 'secret' bread,” Granny said, somewhat quiet though loud enough for Emma to hear across the room.

“Right. Sorry. I just thought I'd let you know.”

Granny smiled.

“It's alright. Just don't go mentioning it to anyone else.”

“Cross my heart,” Emma said as she made an “x” over her chest.

“I'll give you some more next time you're in. What'd Henry have to say about it?”

“He hogged most of it. Scarfed it down like he hadn't been fed in days.”

“Then I guess I'll have to make twice as much,” Granny lightly chuckled as she handed Ruby the to-go plate.

“That'd be great,” Emma nodded.

Ruby handed her the order with a smile.

“See you later,” Ruby said.

“Thanks. See ya,” Emma said as she stood.

She saluted her goodbye to Granny.

“Good day, Sheriff,” Granny said as she waved at the blonde then disappeared into the kitchen.

Emma complied with Regina's demand to meet her around the corner and drove down the street until she saw the late model Mercedes parked out of the way. She parked next to Regina and got out of her yellow bug.

She stood outside on the passenger's side and knocked her knuckles on the window.

Regina unlocked the door, but didn't roll down the window.

Emma took what she could get and quickly opened the door, afraid Regina would lock her out if she didn't act fast.

She slid into the seat and closed the door behind her.

She heard the lock as it came into place and looked at Regina, her eyes wider than usual.

The brunette wickedly grinned, her finger still on the lock button when Emma met her gaze. Emma was trapped in a locked vehicle with the Mayor.

“You're not...wearing the dress,” Emma slowly said as she tried not to freak out.

“It's in the backseat. I was going to change at the apartment. But know I'm wondering if I should wear such a nice dress if I'm going to be cleaning. It'll dirty the dress and it's one of my favorites.”

“So...what are you suggesting?”

“Maybe I shouldn't clean your apartment today.”

“What would you do instead?”

Regina's grin spread, more sinister.

“Get in the backseat,” she demanded, a devilish gleam in her eyes.

Emma gulped.

“You're kinda scaring me.”

“Just get in the back, Miss Swan. We don't have much time, do we.”

“That depends on what you plan on doing. If you're gonna murder me in the backseat of your car, you could slash my throat and get rid of the evidence with maybe fifteen minutes to spare before you're break ends. You eat lunch then go back to work and no one would know.”

“What a lovely thought. Do you think about me killing you often?”

Regina moved in closer, their faces inches apart.

“Because that's not how I would do it,” Regina purred.

Emma looked from dark eyes to Regina's plump lips.

Regina smirked.

“Would you like me to show you how I would,” Regina asked as she watched the blonde stare at her lips for countless moments.

Regina waited a little too long for a response that never came. She made her demand again.

“Backseat. Now.”

Emma locked eyes with Regina. She looked the Mayor over for several seconds then pursed her lips and crawled from the passenger's seat into the back.

Regina victoriously grinned to herself then followed Emma into the backseat. She didn't wait to straddle the blonde's lap in the middle seat.

“What exactly is it you think I'd do to end your life, dear,” Regina purred again as she cupped Emma's cheeks. “You can't possibly believe I'd kill you with a quick flick of the wrist, a blade to your throat.”

“No? You wouldn't do that?”

Regina slowly shook her head.

“Have you thought about killing me?”

“Recently...yes,” Regina slowly confessed as she purred.

“Oh. Well, in that case, maybe you should lie to me.”

Regina giggled, but not in a cute and innocent way. More like the cat ate the canary.

“I'd do it slowly,” Regina started again, her voice low and slow to successfully make her point. “First...I'd wrap my hands around your neck.”

Regina slid her hands from Emma's cheeks to her throat. She demonstrated her method of terminating Emma.

“I'd squeeze until you nearly blacked out. Kind of like in the graveyard so many weeks ago.”

Regina tightened her grip around Emma's neck.

Emma gasped before she started to struggle. She grabbed at one of Regina's hands and tried to pull the brunette away.

Regina only pushed forward with her plan and squeezed harder.

“Just when you think you're going to lose consciousness...” Regina trailed off as she waited for Emma's eyes to flutter shut. “Then I'd let go.”

Regina released Emma.

The younger woman took a deep breath then coughed. She tried to catch her breath.

Regina hooked a finger under Emma's chin and forced the Sheriff to look up at her. She leaned in and kissed the blonde. She started slowly, softly, before she slid her tongue over Emma's lower lip to demand entrance.

Emma parted her lips and granted Regina the access she wanted. She touched the brunette's biceps through a black blazer, but the connection didn't last.

Regina abruptly broke the kiss and removed Emma's jacket then quickly peeled off her T-shirt. She grinned down at the blonde and ran her index fingers under the bra straps, up and down, but never off. She ran her fingers under the material two or three times before she snapped them against pale skin.

Emma hissed and scrunched up her face.

“What do you think I'd do next,” Regina asked in a sultry tone.

Emma shook her head.

“I have no idea.”

“Would you like me to continue?”

“I have a feeling you're gonna keep going no matter what I say.”

Regina nodded.

“Smart girl.”

Regina started to grind against Emma. She created a slow burning friction between their centers as she moved back and forth. She kept a steady pace, not rushed and completely sensual.

Emma gasped and bit her bottom lip.

“Don't tell me you'd fuck me to death.”

Regina throatily chuckled.

“I wouldn't do anything pleasurable if I were actually killing you. Right now I'm just having some fun.”

Regina undid Emma's jeans, but didn't slip her hand inside. She left Emma wanting to be touched, but continued to grind against her.

Emma licked her lips and started to pant as her skin warmed.

“After I would strangle you,” Regina started to explain further. “I'd take out a knife or a box cutter and tear into your skin.”

“I take it you like sharp things.”

“Actually,” Regina said as her hand made a slow descent into the Sheriff's pants. “I prefer using my hands.”

The Mayor teasingly ran a finger though Emma's folds.

Emma leaned back and rested head on the back of the seat. She closed her eyes and spread her legs for the brunette.

“As much as I love to see you struggle, there's something to be said about when you give in to me.”

Emma focused on her labored breathing.

“I'd mark you with an 'xo' and finish off my name around your thigh. Then I'd slip the blade into your stomach. I wouldn't call it a stabbing because that, to me, would mean I'd use excessive force. I'd do it slowly, listen to you scream in pain. It wouldn't kill you, but it would surely hurt.”

Regina thrust two fingers inside Emma.

Emma hummed and ran a hand threw her own hair as she opened her eyes and stared at the roof of the car.

“You'd bleed,” Regina continued. “And I'd watch you squirm.”

Regina thrust her fingers further inside the younger woman.

Emma tensed as she tried to spread her legs even more, but unfortunately caused Regina to move against her injured thigh.

“Ah,” Emma hissed and squeezed her eyes shut.

Regina lifted off Emma's lap, but kept her knees on either side of Emma's hips.

Emma relaxed her face and sighed in relief.

The brunette slid in and out of Emma as the Sheriff became more aroused with every thrust and spoken word. She avoided touching Emma's left thigh as she continued. She quickened her pace and began to bury her fingers inside Emma much like she had in her dream.

“I'd tie you up,” Regina started to explain again. “And I'd bruise your pretty face.”

Regina reached up and held Emma's chin between her left index finger and thumb. She turned the younger woman to the blonde's right to look at her black and blue cheek. She pressed her thumb against the sore bone and caused Emma to jerk away. She pulled her hand back and leaned in.

Regina placed a tender, chaste kiss on Emma's bruise. She gently braced herself with her free hand on the blonde's neck as he pushed harder into Emma.

Emma moaned as her hand flew to grip Regina’s hips. She dug her nails into the brunette's skin as their movements raised the Mayor's shirt under her open blazer.

Regina bent over Emma and crashed their lips together. Immediately, her tongue slithered past Emma's parted lips while the blonde was caught off guard. She pushed into the kiss with as much force as she did with her fingers. She plunged into Emma and kissed her hard, lustfully.

Emma moaned and felt Regina suck all the air out of her lungs as they feverishly kissed. She didn't have time to come up for air until Regina quickened her pace yet again and started to grind down on her stomach. With Regina on top of her, doing the things she did, Emma broke their kiss as she turned her head to the side and gasped.

Regina kept her free hand on Emma's neck and dipped her head into the crook of Emma's neck on the opposite side as she thrust harder, longer, and faster into the blonde.

“Fuck,” Emma rasped out, no louder than a whisper.

Regina moaned into Emma's blonde locks as she felt a familiar wetness drench her own panties.

“It wouldn't be enough,” Regina admitted as she tried to finish her explanation. “I wouldn't...just use a knife...to cut and kill you.”

Emma bit her bottom lip and continued to claw at Regina's hips.

_I'd poison you,_ Regina thought. 

“But you don't need to know the rest, dear,” Regina panted and kept up with her pace.

Regina's nails sunk into Emma's neck as she closed her eyes and took in the scent of Emma's cornsilk curls.

She smelled like honey.

Regina curled her fingers inside Emma.

Emma restrained Regina at the hips as she tightly held them and pulled Regina completely on top of her, the brunette's center pressed to her stomach. She stilled the brunette's movements as she came undone.

Regina didn't stop. She raked her nails down Emma's throat to her collarbone as she kept a consistent pace. She remained on top of Emma and allowed the blonde to feel all of her weight as she thrust in and out of the Sheriff.

Emma took as deep of a breath as she could. She felt herself tighten around Regina's fingers a second time and her bit lip as she came again.

Regina barely, though noticeably, slowed her pace, but kept going.

“Regina,” Emma breathlessly started. “I can't.”

“Yes, you can.”

“Please.”

“Please what,” Regina huskily asked.

“Please don't make me.”

“Make you come?”

Emma nodded and gulped.

“Two more orgasms,” Regina said.

Emma shook her head.

“Can't,” she insisted.

“Will,” Regina purred, almost growled.

Regina wrapped her fingers around Emma's neck and squeezed enough to limit the younger woman's oxygen supply, but not enough to fully strangle her.

Emma ran a hand upward under Regina's shirt then raked her nails down the Mayor's smooth back.

Sweat coated Emma's face as the Mercedes' windows fogged. She reached up with her free hand and smacked the roof of the car with her palm.

Regina panted against Emma's neck as her clawing hand scratched down Emma's sternum. She moved her hand inside Emma's bra and rubbed circles over one of the younger woman's nipples with the pad of her thumb.

Emma moaned, unable to contain herself as she came a third time.

“And now for the grand finale,” Regina throatily purred in Emma's ear.

Regina swiftly removed her fingers and noticed Emma relax.

She wickedly grinned as she sat back on the center console between the front seats.

“Turn around,” she commanded.

Emma panted as she opened her eyes to look at Regina.

“I told you...I can't.”

“And I told you, you will. Turn around or find out what will happen if you don't,” Regina said as she threateningly hovered her right hand over Emma's injured thigh, covered by tight denim.

Emma looked between her thigh and Regina's hand before she met the brunette's gaze again. She complied and turned to face the back window, on her knees.

Regina flashed a satisfied smirked as she noted how the blonde kept her legs parted for her. She moved in and quickly unhooked Emma's bra. She removed it then tossed it into the passenger's seat.

Emma's nipples hardened at the lack of warmth previously provided by the bra. She instinctively braced herself against the seat as she dug her nails in.

Regina pressed herself flush against Emma's back then yanked the blonde's jeans and soaked underwear down to her thighs.

Emma closed her eyes and gasped as cold air hit her exposed, dripping sex. She gulped seconds before Regina placed her left hand on her own then slid four fingers into the younger woman from behind.

Emma loudly moaned as she clutched the seat for dear life while Regina picked up her pace from the same speed she left off before their new position.

Regina laced her fingers with Emma's and dug her nails into Emma's palm as the blonde continued to sink her nails into the seat.

“F-fu... _fuck_ ,” Emma breathlessly moaned. 

Regina forced her fingers deep inside Emma with one swift, aggressive thrust then twisted them as she hit the right spot.

Emma whimpered as she squeezed her eyes shut tighter, but the moment didn't linger.

As quickly as Regina had pushed her fingers into Emma, they left.

Fortunately, though also teasingly, for Emma, Regina pushed into her with the same amount of force and depth as she had only seconds ago. She twisted her fingers again and curled them against the same spot inside Emma.

“God,” Emma said as she threw her right hand out to touch the fogged window in front of her.

She slammed her hand against the window and made a hand print in the fog.

“Not God. More like the devil,” Regina corrected, a little strained. “But you can call me the Queen.”

Emma's hand started to slip against the window as Regina moved in and out of her. Within a matter of seconds, she came undone for the fourth time in a matter of minutes.

“Regina!”

The brunette couldn't stop. She continued to thrust into Emma, even after she achieved her goal.

“No more,” Emma tiredly panted.

“We've still got plenty of time left on our break. I want to enjoy every second.”

“I... _ah_...no! It's... I'm...so sens-sitive,” Emma barely managed to say. 

“I want you to hurt when I'm done. I want your legs to wobble, for you to feel like jello. Because of me.”

Emma whimpered again as she tightened around Regina's fingers yet again.

“Fuck...hmm... _Regina_ ,” Emma slumped forward as her hand slid down the fogged window and gave Regina a small view of the street through the streak she made in the process.

A few people passed by in the distance as they walked around the corner either coming from the direction of the diner or going in the direction of the diner.

Regina mischievously grinned as she thought about it.

“I could fuck you all day...right under everyone's noses. No one knows about us.”

Emma bit her bottom lip as she continued to pant. The sweat on her forehead increased and wet some of her hair, causing it to stick to her.

“I could make you scream my name and no one would know. I could hurt you immensely and make you cry out...no one would hear you.”

Emma moaned in crescendo as Regina drew out another orgasm from her.

“Please...stop. ...Can't...”

Emma could barely think. Her vision was blurred when she tried to open her eyes and each release after the third time started to rip into her. She felt weak and Regina was doing a fine job hurting her, each orgasm more painful than the last as her body fought to keep up with the Mayor.

Regina felt the same darkness from her dream consume her. It blinded her as she continued to feel Emma with her fingers twisted inside the tiring blonde. Her eyes were no longer dark, they were black. Completely black. At least that's how they appeared if anyone were to look at her.

She pulled her fingers out of the younger woman and released Emma's hand. She used her newly freed hand to rest on Emma's lower abdomen.

_Should I even warn her,_ Regina thought.  _No. Time to go in for the kill._

Regina squeezed Emma's lower half against her with the hand on the blonde's stomach. She pressed the woman down on her fingers as she pushed inside Emma.

Emma grunted and pulled her hand back from the window. She tried to reach around herself to stop the hand the hand that moved between them, but Regina quickly bucked her hips and jerked Emma forward.

Emma hit the seat, her front pressed harshly against it as much as she could be, Regina's hand the only thing between her hips and the seat.

Regina slid her hand down Emma's stomach to her center and ran her fingers through slick folds. She coated them before she moved her fingers back up to Emma's clit. She rubbed up and down then made circles.

Emma tensed her entire body and tried to brace herself for what happened next. She came violently as Regina pressed a wet fingertip against her bundle of nerves as she slowly slid it downward through her folds.

The blonde emitted a strangled cross between a moan and sigh as she melted against Regina's body. She leaned back in defeat as she panted and rested her head on Regina's shoulder.

Regina slowed her fingers inside Emma as she pulled her left hand away from the Sheriff's sex completely. After a few moments, Regina withdrew her fingers and licked them as she looked down at Emma.

Emma's eyes were closed, her brow furrowed as she tried to come down from her sexual high. Her head was spinning as a huge cloud formed in it. Nothing was clear and her body felt like it had been hit by a freight train. Her center throbbed and the muscles in her legs were exhausted.

Regina sucked her fingers clean of Emma's taste as she admired what she'd done to the younger woman. She allowed Emma to rest on her, but she wouldn't let her fall asleep on her like she had after the massage. She waited until Emma relaxed her brow then used her left hand to push Emma off her. She moved away from the blonde and guided her onto her left side across the backseat.

Emma curled up as much as the seat would permit, her eyes still closed as she tried to drift off to sleep.

Regina settled on the center console and faced Emma's back, the blonde curled in toward the backseat. She was wet and itching for release. Emma's pants were still around her thighs, her bare backside in front of Regina.

“Don't go to sleep,” Regina spoke up, her voice thick with desire. “I need you to do something for me.”

Emma sighed and opened her eyes as she slowly rolled onto her back then turned her head to look at Regina.

Regina undid her pants and pulled them, along with her damp underwear, down to the floor. She removed them both entirely and sat on the console with her legs pressed together, hiding herself from Emma.

“Taste me,” Regina said as the edge to her voice disappeared in her need.

The younger woman pulled herself into a sitting position and turned her body to face Regina. She looked from Regina's eyes to her legs. After a long moment, Emma met Regina's gaze again.

“Open up,” Emma said as she sunk to her knees in the confined space on the floor between the console and the backseat.

Emma touched Regina's knees as the brunette kept her legs closed and let the Mayor open them of her own accord. She waited a few seconds before Regina spread her legs.

Regina held on to both the passenger's and driver's seat as she slid forward on the console and placed both feet on the backseat.

Emma bent over and curled her body to level her mouth with Regina's wet sex.

Regina's breathing became shallow and rapid as she waited for Emma to move closer, to put her mouth where it was needed most.

Emma hesitated. She licked her lips to wet them as she stared straight at Regina's exposed center. After a few seconds that felt more like long minutes, Emma looked up at Regina through thick, dark lashes.

Regina looked down at her, her eyes carrying less authority with every passing second Emma didn't touch her. She quickly tried to mask it and managed to look more domineering the longer they stared at each other.

Emma reached out and held Regina with her hands on the backs of the Mayor's thighs, close to her sex. She leaned in and closed the space between her mouth and Regina's center then licked up the woman's sleek folds. When the tip of her tongue made it to Regina's clit, she teasingly moved it up and down over the bundle of nerves at a quick pace.

Regina tightly gripped at the seats and closed her eyes. When the flat of Emma's tongue descended her sex and stopped short of her opening, she threw her head back. She parted her lips and gasped as she felt Emma dip her tongue inside. She tensed in anticipation.

Emma wriggled her tongue around inside Regina then pulled out and licked the rest of Regina clean. She moved her mouth back up to Regina's clit and sucked on it as she slid a few fingers toward the Mayor's opening again.

Regina bit her bottom lip as Emma's fingers came closer to where she needed the blonde.

Emma tantalizingly slowly slipped three fingers into Regina and nipped at her clit.

“What did I tell you about biting,” Regina throatily, breathlessly warned.

Emma licked the bundle of nerves one time before she sucked on it again. After a few seconds, she nibbled at her clit as a silent way of telling Regina that was as far as her teeth would go in terms of biting.

Emma started a slow pace that quickly picked up after four inward thrusts. She massaged the backside of Regina's right thigh with the pad of her left thumb. She made circles as she moved her free hand closer to the apex of Regina's legs.

Regina's breath hitched and Emma's pace quickened.

Emma pulled almost completely out of Regina then paused for a split second as she worked to add a fourth finger.

Regina half groaned, half moaned as she felt her body open for the new addition.

Emma curled her fingers and moved deep inside Regina, though not as deep as the brunette had pushed into her. She flicked the tip of her tongue over Regina's clit then pinched it with her teeth before she suffocated it with her mouth and sucked.

Regina was close.

Emma made the decision to still her fingers inside Regina then curl and uncurl them as she reached for a specific spot inside the woman.

Regina hummed her approval.

Then, Emma slowly withdrew her fingers before she licked a trail down to Regina's opening. She teased it as she circled around the outside with the tip of her tongue. She pressed the flat of her tongue over the area and covered it before she licked up toward Regina's clit, but changed direction again and dipped her tongue barely, briefly, inside Regina.

Regina groaned and let go of the driver's seat to grab a fistful of curls with her right hand. She pressed Emma against her.

Emma would've smirked into Regina's center, but she was too tired. She trained her remaining energy on satisfying the Mayor. She slid her tongue inside Regina and ran her coated fingers over Regina's clit.

Regina lightly raked her nails across Emma's scalp as she simultaneously gripped blonde tresses and the passenger's seat. Her walls tightened as Emma slithered her tongue in and out of her as much as she possibly could. She quickly came undone.

Emma pulled her tongue out of Regina as the Mayor came and tasted her as instructed earlier.

Regina let go of Emma's hair took deep breaths as she tried to even them out. She opened her eyes as Emma finished.

Emma pulled away from Regina and licked her lips to clean herself up. She ran the back of her hand across her mouth to get the rest of it she couldn't reach with her tongue. She sat back in the seat, bare breasted and exposed to mid-thigh.

Regina pulled herself off the center console as she gripped the two front seats and straddled Emma's lap. She leaned in as Emma rested her head on the back of the seat with her eyes closed. She kissed Emma's nose and cleaned up the mess Emma had missed. She moved down Emma's body for a better, easier angle, and locked lips with the Sheriff.

“So...” Regina started as she pulled back, but stayed in Emma's lap. “The next council meeting is Friday. It starts at eight. Make sure to be there on time.”

“Mm.”

Regina grinned.

“Are you tired, Miss Swan?”

“Mhmm.”

“Would you like to rest?”

“Hmm.”

“You've got to get back to work, dear. As do I. There's not much time for sleep.”

Emma took a deep breath through her nose before she parted her lips and tried to speak.

“No one will miss me at the station,” Emma sleepily managed to say.

“Well, you can't sleep in my car. I've got to get back to my office. Unlike you I _will_ be missed. I have too many things to do.”

Emma didn't respond as her breathing evened and slowed.

Regina looked out through the streak in the back window Emma had made earlier and didn't see anyone on the street.

She quickly dressed herself completely then looked back down at Emma. She picked up Emma's shirt and pulled it over the blonde's head to cover her. She then tugged on Emma's jeans.

After a few seconds, she opened the back door then slid out of the car and went to Emma's beat up yellow bug. She tugged on the door to the backseat and opened it.

She turned back to her car, the door still open, and popped inside. She hooked her arms under Emma's and dragged the blonde across the backseat.

Emma hummed and furrowed her brow as Regina pulled her out of the Mercedes.

Regina frowned as she struggled to move the younger woman from her Mercedes into the Volkswagen.

Emma's feet landed with a thud as they crashed against the ground an inch or two away from the Mercedes. She groaned.

Regina hastily pulled Emma along then used what little upper body strength she had to lift the Sheriff against her chest. She slid out from between the yellow bug and Emma and tried to ease the blonde into the car.

She laid Emma on her back in the seat, her hips on the edge of the seat while her legs hung out of the car. She angrily looked inside the Volkswagen and wrapped her arms around the backside of Emma's thighs. She thrust her body against Emma and pushed the blonde completely inside the car with a grunt. She sighed as she let go of Emma's thighs.

Regina backed away and looked at Emma as she rested in the car, her feet sticking out of the backseat as her head nearly touched the door on the other side of the car. She ran a hand through her hair. She looked around in search for something, but didn't see anything she wanted. She went back to her car and rummaged through her purse. She grabbed a tube of lipstick and a makeup remover wipe and came back to Emma.

She leaned over the blonde and opened the lipstick before she left a note on the Sheriff's forehead with it. She then applied it to her lips and kissed Emma's chest where under the surface her heart beat inside her. She purposely left a lipstick stain in the shape of her lips and grinned as she backed away from the car.

She closed the lipstick and admired her work for a few seconds before she bent Emma's legs at the knees to get her completely inside the car. When she could safely close the car door without hitting or hurting Emma in any way, she left the makeup remover on Emma's stomach, over her thin T-shirt.

She backed away again and closed the door. She left Emma alone in the yellow bug to sleep as she returned to her black Mercedes and shut the back door. She walked around the front of her car and got in the driver's seat before she started the engine and peeled out of the somewhat secluded area.

 


	17. Chapter 17

Emma slowly sat up in the backseat of her bug as she ran a hand through her hair. When she adjusted herself to sit upright, her feet on the floor of the car, she noticed something different about her appearance in the rear view mirror.

She squinted and leaned forward to get a better look as she positioned herself straight in front of the mirror. It was a note written in lipstick.

_You're mine -R_

Emma rolled her eyes then looked around outside, the sun not as high in the sky as it used to be.

Emma's eyes shot wide open, completely awake.

“Henry,” she exclaimed in the empty car.

She pulled out her phone and checked the time. She sighed with relief when she saw she still had twenty minutes before school let out.

As she put away her phone, she noticed she wasn't wearing a bra. She frowned and felt her chest as though feeling around would make it magically appear. She sighed and patted down the rest of her body.

As she felt around, she noticed a cloth in her lap that wasn't previously there when she fell asleep. She picked it up and rubbed it between her fingers.

_Makeup remover,_ she inwardly noted.

She quickly ran it over her forehead and smudged the lipstick until she wiped it clean off. She inspected herself one last time in the mirror and deemed herself presentable before she climbed from backseat into the driver's seat.

When she sat down, she realized her pants weren't in the best condition. She'd slept in wet panties and had stained the seat of her pants. She groaned and rolled her eyes before she started the car and headed for the apartment.

There, she changed her pants and underwear, put on a new bra, and applied a little makeup to cover her bruised cheek. Then she put on some eyeliner and mascara just because it's what she normally did to make herself look decent then went to the school. She waited a few minutes before Henry happily jogged to her car. She smiled as he cheerily threw his bag inside and shut the door behind him.

“Where to,” he asked.

“I'm the driver. Shouldn't I be asking you that question?”

Henry smiled at her.

“We could always go to Granny's,” he suggested.

“Or I could take you back to Mary Margaret's and we can make something ourselves.”

“Do you even cook?”

“Not really, but I know the basics. I can make anything that's boxed up and goes in the freezer and I can make eggs and pasta salad. But we can always find recipes online and try to make those. What do you say? Quick and easy experimentation?”

“I don't know how quick and I don't know how easy it'll be, but I'm up for it.”

Emma chuckled.

“Buckle up then. It's time to make us some crazily concocted dinner.”

Emma had her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail to keep it out of the food as she cooked. She beamed down at Henry as he worked alongside her in the kitchen.

He giggled as he brought a jar of sauce onto the counter top and opened it. He turned to a drawer to his right and pulled out a wooden spoon. He dipped it into the sauce and flicked it at Emma.

Emma gasped.

“Henry!”

He laughed.

He'd spattered sauce across Emma's shirt, chest, a bit on her face, and some in her hair on her right side.

“You think that's funny,” she played along.

“Yeah,” he continued to laugh.

“How funny do you think _this_ is,” she asked.

As Emma emphasized the word “this”, she scooped up a handful of sauce straight from the jar and flung it at him. It hit him directly in the face and settled in the tips of his bangs.

She laughed as he laughed harder.

He reached over and took the ladle in Emma's clean hand before he grabbed a bundle of pasta and threw it at her.

She turned off the stove to make sure she didn't burn anything, or anyone, and turned to Henry. Within seconds of turning, he grabbed the jar of sauce and continued to attack her with it.

She defensively raised her hands and backed away from him until she collided with the refrigerator.

Henry laughed as he reloaded the wooden spoon and flicked more sauce at Emma.

Emma turned and opened the refrigerator then used the door as protection as she searched for food weapons.

Henry repositioned himself so the door no longer saved Emma from the sauce. He stained the back of her shirt and got some more in her hair before she picked something up and spun around.

Emma faced him with a bottle of chocolate syrup.

“Things are about to get messy,” Emma said before she pulled open the top and squirted it at Henry.

“Ah, no,” Henry exclaimed as held a hand in front of his face and ran from Emma.

Emma laughed.

“You thought you had me, didn't you? Nothing defeats chocolate syrup.”

Henry held the sauce jar slightly under his arm like a football and ran to the living room. He ducked behind the couch as Emma ran after him. He crawled around to the other side, the back of the couch, as Emma rounded the front end and plotted her attack.

Emma walked around the couch slowly like a serial killer in a horror film sneaking up on their unsuspecting victims.

Henry moved to the back of the couch and faced the kitchen, knees to chest as he waited for Emma to come around the right side of the couch as he had.

Instead, Emma grinned as she carefully knelt down on the couch and leaned over.

“Gotcha,” she yelled and caused the boy to jump.

Henry looked up at Emma as she hovered above him with a smirk. He barely had time to notice it before she squirted the bottle and covered him in chocolate syrup.

He bolted and ran back to the kitchen.

Emma pushed off the couch and ran to catch him.

Henry turned to see Emma gaining on him as he ran around the island and scooped up a spoonful of sauce. He flung the sauce over his shoulder when Emma raised her bottle-wielding hand to hit him with a downward attack.

Sauce compromised her vision as it spattered across her face, but she squirted the bottle as she brought her arm down in a pitch-like motion. She almost looked like a baseball player when she did it.

Henry smiled though he shied away from the syrup as Emma wiped the sauce off her face to see clearly.

“What's going on,” Mary Margaret's voice boomed through the commotion.

Emma and Henry abruptly stopped like two kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. They looked at Mary Margaret as she crossed her arms over her chest at the base of the stairs and expectantly tapped her foot against the floor as she waited for an answer.

Emma nervously smiled and raised her shoulders as she tensed most, if not all, of the muscles in her body and replied.

“Food fight?”

Mary Margaret sighed then smiled. She dropped her arms to the side and shook her head.

“As long as you clean up the mess you make and don't ruin the furniture, I'm okay with that.”

Emma's smile went from nervous to genuine at the pixie haired woman's words.

Henry flicked another spoonful of sauce at Emma and broke up the short lived moment. He laughed as she shook her head with a mischievous grin.

Emma turned to Henry and playfully grinned at him for a moment before she took a step toward him.

With a smile on his face, he took a step back.

Emma started to close the space between them one step at a time and for each step forward, Henry took a step back. It was an obvious game of cat and mouse and both of them clearly enjoyed it.

Mary Margaret laughed under her breath as she watched the two of them play. She slowly walked toward the kitchen as she focused her attention on mother and son. She leaned against the wall between the open area and the kitchen and crossed her arms over her chest.

Emma reached out to grab Henry and the boy ran off around the island to escape her and the syrup.

“Oh, no. You're not getting away that easy,” Emma smiled as she chased after him.

Henry laughed as he fled to the comfort of the living room again. He dove under the coffee table and crawled to the other side.

Emma hurdled over the back of the couch and cut Henry off as he attempted to flee. She laughed as she gently pressed against his shoulder to stop him and raised the syrup above his head.

“Say 'ah',” Emma victoriously said.

“Ah,” Henry obliged as he tipped his head back and opened his mouth wide.

Emma grinned as she squeezed the syrup into his mouth.

He laughed as he gulped down the syrup, a huge smile on his face.

“You'll spoil his dinner like that,” Mary Margaret informed the blonde though she continued to smile.

“Kid's got a sweet tooth like me,” Emma happily said as she kept her focus on Henry.

After a few more seconds, Emma eased up on the bottle of syrup and took a step back.

Henry wiped the back of his hand cross his face to clean up the syrup. Instead, he ended up smudging it and caused Emma to shake her head and laugh.

Emma reached out and swiped the pad of her thumb across the corner of Henry's mouth.

“Missed a spot,” she joked.

Henry was covered in chocolate, including his clothes and hair.

As she cleaned him up in a very mothering way, Henry scrunched up his face and squirmed away.

“My mom does that,” he semi-whined as he rubbed his hand over his face to get rid of the mess. “I'm ten. I can do it myself.”

Emma smiled.

“Okay,” she nodded. “I hear you.”

Emma headed back to the kitchen and put the syrup back in the fridge.

Henry followed her and set the sauce on the counter.

Emma turned back around and closed the jar before she grabbed a paper towel. She cleaned up the bits of sauce that had dirtied the outside of the jar then put it where it belonged. When she threw out the paper towel, she looked Henry over as he stood only a few feet away.

“Why don't I finish making dinner while you go take a shower,” Emma suggested.

Henry looked down at his clothes then back into Emma's eyes.

“Okay.”

“The bathroom is right down the hall there,” Emma pointed.

Henry turned to follow the direction of Emma's finger and noticed the slightly ajar bathroom door. He smiled as he looked back at Emma.

“Thanks,” he said. “Oh, um, I don't have a change of clothes.”

“Right,” Emma slowly said as she tried to think of a solution. “I think I've got something that'll fit you. Hop in the shower and I'll bring some clothes down in a minute.”

“Okay.”

Henry started toward the bathroom when Emma looked over at Mary Margaret. The woman didn't say anything, but one look reminded Emma of something.

“And Henry?”

“Yeah,” he asked as he stopped and turned back to Emma yet again.

“Use the red towel. The white one is Mary Margaret's. Also, use the black bottle of shampoo 'cause that's mine.”

“Got it,” Henry nodded then continued toward the bathroom.

Mary Margaret smiled as she watched him close the door then looked at Emma who went back to the stove.

“He's a great kid,” Mary Margaret said. “I'm glad you're getting to spend so much time with him.”

“Me too,” Emma warmly smiled.

“I could help finish dinner if you'd like,” Mary Margaret offered. “That way you can go look for something for Henry to wear right now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Emma, it's not like you're making a three course meal at a five star restaurant. And...I'd like to help. It'd be nice to cook for someone other than myself.”

Emma flashed an appreciative smile.

“Thank you. It'll only take me a few minutes.”

“Not a problem,” Mary Margaret shook her head.

“Okay. Uh, the recipe is on the counter next to the stove. I was about to start step five.”

Mary Margaret nodded and went to the recipe as Emma headed for the stairs.

After several minutes, Emma brought down a gray sweatshirt and basketball shorts. She looked over at Mary Margaret when she reached the bottom of the stairs and smiled as the pixie-haired woman seemed at ease as she moved about the kitchen.

Emma turned to the left and stopped outside the bathroom. She could still hear the water running so she knocked on the chipped white door.

“Henry?”

“Yeah?”

“I have clothes for you,” she yelled through the door. “Are you almost done?”

“Yeah, I'll be out in a minute.”

“All right. Well, I'm gonna leave them on the couch, okay?”

“Okay.”

Emma laid the outfit over the back of the couch and went to the kitchen to help Mary Margaret. She peered over Mary Margaret's shoulder and looked at the food in the pan.

“Wow. Nice job,” Emma complimented her as she stepped around to stand beside her friend.

“Thank you,” Mary Margaret smiled.

“Oh, hey. I don't know if you've seen Ruby recently, but she and I are planning another girls night tomorrow. We wanted to know if you could join us.”

“Really? Tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I only have Henry for a little while on Wednesdays so I was thinking we could get together here at the apartment for dinner or something then figure out what we're gonna do the rest of the night.”

“That sounds good. I'm interested.”

“Great. Do you have Ruby's number?”

“Um, yeah, I think I do.”

“Think you can give it to me? One of us should tell her to meet us here and I should probably have her number anyway.”

“Sure.”

“Cool. I can take over with dinner now.”

“I'm almost done.”

“You want to finish it?”

“Yeah, it'll only take maybe five to ten more minutes.”

“Okay,” Emma shrugged. “I don't know how I do it, but for the last week I think I've gotten myself out of making food for me...and Henry!”

Mary Margaret laughed.

“Must be one of your skills.”

“Yep. I'm gifted like that,” Emma grinned.

The bathroom door opened and Henry walked out with the red towel around his waist as the water from the shower glistened all over his body in the light. He acknowledged Emma and Mary Margaret were in the kitchen then directed his attention to the living room as he walked over to the couch.

Emma turned and watched him pick up the sweatshirt.

“What do you think, kid,” Emma asked as she walked over to him.

Henry looked over his shoulder for a brief moment then lifted the shorts.

“They seem big enough. I don't know if the shorts will actually look like shorts on me, but who knows.”

Emma smiled at him.

“I was thinking the same thing. Wouldn't hurt to try, though, right? Any pants I could give you would drag on the ground.”

“Yeah.”

“Want to get dressed in my room?”

“Okay,” Henry shrugged. “Just let me get something out of the bathroom. I left something in there.”

“Go for it,” Emma said as he went back into the bathroom.

Within seconds, he reappeared with his dirty clothes and briefs in one hand and the clothes he'd taken from the couch in the other.

“Ready,” Emma asked as she reached out a hand.

“Yeah,” Henry answered as Emma touched his shoulder.

Emma guided Henry to the stairs then let him go up first. She followed behind, still covered in sauce, and watched him walk over to her bed. He set the clothes down on the comforter and turned to Emma.

“You gonna be okay up here?”

“Yeah. It'll just take me a second.”

“Okay. Mary Margaret said dinner should be ready in a few minutes. I'm gonna take a quick shower. See you downstairs?”

“Mhmm.”

Emma started to leave when Henry stopped her.

“Emma?”

“Yeah,” Emma asked as she turned to him.

“I really like spending time with you.”

“Aw, kid...I like spending time with you too.”

Henry smiled, but it soon faded.

“I wish I could say that about my mom. I know it's because she's the Evil Queen, but sometimes...I wish things could go back to the way they were. No, I wish she never was the Evil Queen.”

“Oh, Henry. Don't worry about the whole Evil Queen thing.”

“But if I don't worry about it then no one else will. She's bad news, Emma.”

Emma studied his features before she sat in front of him on the bed.

“Then let _me_ worry about it.”

“You don't even believe me about her or the book.”

“Just because _I_ don't believe something doesn't mean it's not true. So...I'll be on guard. If I see any Evil Queen behavior, I'll do something about it.”

“You will?”

“Yeah. Something subtle, though. I don't want her to know we're on to her.”

“That's smart.”

“Mhmm. So...what kind of stuff should I be aware of? What kind of things does the Evil Queen do?”

“She'll do anything to make sure she's happy, especially if it means others are unhappy.”

“Anything?”

“Yeah. And she gets really mean.”

“Well, I can be mean sometimes too.”

“Not like she is. She makes threats and hurts people.”

“Okay.”

“If you really want to know more about her, read my book.”

“And where _is_ your book?”

“Somewhere she won't find it. I hid it in the one place that only you and I know about.”

“The castle?”

He nodded.

“Well, I don't think I'll have time to get it today, but I'll tell you when I do.”

“How?”

“With the walkie-talkies.”

“Okay, but we should probably have a code name if we're going to talk about the book. My mom can't know that's what we're talking about.”

“All right. What's the code name?”

Henry thought about it.

“Operation Cobra.”

“That seems a little odd for conversations about fairytales, don't you think?”

“Exactly. We don't want it to be something she could figure out.”

“Of course,” Emma nodded.

She smiled when she realized he had a point, even though she was only playing along.

He smiled back.

“So...you'll read the book and keep an eye out for her?”

“If that'll make you happy.”

He nodded.

“Then that's what I'm gonna do,” she reassured him. “Now let me take a shower and we'll eat.”

He chuckled.

Emma's smile widened before she rubbed his shoulder then headed back downstairs.

Emma finished drying her hair and put on just a bit of makeup. She realized it didn't matter if she wore any since she didn't have plans later, but she did it anyway to make sure the exhaustion in her eyes didn't scare Henry. She also had a few things to cover up like the giant bruise on her left cheekbone.

She slid into a clean pair of jeans and a black (spaghetti strap) camisole. She'd put her boots on when the left, but for the time being she remained barefoot. She'd painted her toes not too long ago and they still held a well-polished red hue. She grabbed her dirty clothes off the floor and made her way from the bathroom to the stairs. She looked over at the dining room table and smiled when she saw Henry waiting patiently for the food Mary Margaret brought over.

“Give me a second to leave these upstairs,” Emma said as she held up her bundle of dirty clothes. “And I'll join you.”

Mary Margaret smiled and nodded.

“Okay,” Henry said as he turned the upper half of his body to face Emma when he spoke.

Emma smiled back at Mary Margaret first then at Henry after he responded. She only stared at him for a few seconds more before she went up the steep staircase.

She dumped her clothes into her hamper in her closet then made her way back down to the dining room.

Mary Margaret took her time serving Henry and the empty spot next to him before she served herself. Emma had come down in time to see the pixie-haired woman give the plate at the empty spot a good portion of food.

“Wow. You really know how I eat,” Emma noted as she came to sit in the empty spot beside Henry.

Mary Margaret chuckled with a sweet smile.

“I've noticed a few habits of yours since you've been here. I'm sure you've noticed some of mine.”

“Oh, yeah. I don't think I know anyone that cleans more than you. And you only ever clean when it needs to be done, like if guests are coming, or if you're upset or scared or don't know what to do about something.”

“Yes, that would be one of my habits,” Mary Margaret somewhat nervously admitted, though she continued to smile.

“Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging you. If it works, it works. Nothing wrong with that. And you know me, I'm not one for much cleaning so it helps living with someone so opposite from me in that area.”

Emma teasingly smiled though she was sincere.

“Thank you,” Mary Margaret said as she moved on from Emma's plate to her own.

Emma made herself comfortable and smiled at Henry as she thought of something to ask him.

“So, what did your mom have to say about the 'A' you made on that test?”

“I...haven't told her yet.”

“What? Why not? She knew you had a test, right?”

“Yeah.”

“She didn't ask about it?”

“Actually no. I thought it was weird, but I didn't want to tell her so I didn't say anything.”

“Henry, she'd be proud of you.”

“No, not like you are. She expects me to get those kind of grades. It's when I _don't_ make 'A's that she even reacts.”

Emma sighed.

“Well, maybe you're not giving her enough credit.”

Henry shot her an “are you kidding?” look and Emma gave him another option.

“Or maybe I should talk to her about it.”

“She won't listen to you.”

“I have my ways.”

Henry furrowed his brow, not sure what Emma meant by that, but he shook his head to rid himself of the confusion.

“If you say so. I just...it's not that big a deal to her. I'd much rather keep making bets and deals with you about my grades.”

Henry grinned at the last part.

Emma smirked, though at the same time she realized how much Henry resembled Regina. Genetically speaking, the two were not alike at all, but the facial expressions, and sometimes the tone of voice, were uncanny.

_Nature versus nurture I guess,_ Emma thought. 

The rest of dinner went well, mostly silent as they enjoyed the food, but occasionally, Emma smiled when she looked over Henry in the oversized sweatshirt and the baggy shorts. She knew he would never wear something like that nor would Regina let him, but the sight of it was comical as well as heart-warming. She liked being able to provide for him, even in the smallest way. She could feel herself starting to act like a mom with him and though the thought terrified her, she knew she couldn't play the part of the cool aunt forever. Thankfully for her, she hadn't had to scold him yet. The discipline still came from Regina and Regina alone. That little bit of information kept Emma from running away, what kept her from feeling all too responsible for the boy. Not having to raise him alone made Emma felt safe.

She knew if the brunette ever heard her talk like that, though, things probably wouldn't end well. She wasn't sure what any of her thoughts about Henry and parenting meant yet so she decided she'd keep those musings to herself. The only thing she knew for certain when it came to Henry was that she wanted to be there for him. And that was all anyone else needed to know at that time.

Mary Margaret cleared her plate as she excused herself from the table.

Emma and Henry still had a little left to eat and remained seated in silence as they did. After a few seconds, Emma looked over at Henry.

“So,” Emma started as she took the last bite of her food. “How are your sessions with Dr. Hopper?”

“Good. We talk about a lot of stuff, not just what I'm there for.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Well, one day I started asking about his dog Pongo, how he got him and why. He couldn't tell me much. He just said he's had him for as long as he could remember. So I asked him what he liked best about having a dog and the way he talked about Pongo made me want a dog. I kind of already wanted one since I don't have friends or siblings, but my mom would never let me have one.”

“You know, you're not gonna be ten forever. Once you're old enough to move out of your mom's place, you can get one.”

Henry smiled.

“For now I just take Pongo out for a walk every once in a while. And when Archie is out walking him and I run into them, he lets me give Pongo treats. Archie says one day, if my mom will let me, I can come over and dog sit for him.”

Emma smiled back.

“Sounds like you and Archie have a little friendship going on.”

Henry's smile widened.

“Yeah. He's really nice.”

“Emma?”

The blonde looked at Mary Margaret as she came from the kitchen.

“What time are you supposed to have Henry back,” she asked out of curiosity, not with authority or in an attempt to rush the woman.

Emma looked over at the clock.

“Shoot. Henry, we've got to go. If we leave now, we'll be back at the house ten minutes later than your mom will like.”

“Okay,” Henry said as he scarfed down the last three bites of his dinner as he stood and moved toward the kitchen.

Mary Margaret and Emma both inwardly laughed as they watched him pull off a very Emma Swan move.

Henry hurried to the sink with his plate and set it in the dirty side, which he only guessed was the dirty side by the plate he assumed Mary Margaret had just placed in there.

Emma followed his lead.

He grabbed his coat as Emma took her keys and hurried into her boots then headed toward the door.

Emma pulled her red leather jacket off the coat rack as Henry opened the door a few feet from her. She smiled back at Mary Margaret.

“See you in a few,” she said.

Mary Margaret gave a single nod then looked at Henry.

“It was nice having you over,” she said to him.

“I liked being here,” he happily admitted.

“I'll see you in class tomorrow,” she said as she waved goodbye.

He nodded and waved back before he turned and went out the door.

Emma watched him step into the hallway and shot a quick, smiley glance at Mary Margaret before she closed the door behind them.

Regina had packed up a few things in her office on her way out and went to grab her coat when a knock came at her office door. She turned and looked up to see an unwelcome guest give her a crocodile grin from the doorway.

“It's been a while, dearie,” Gold eerily said, his voice bringing about the same unsettling feeling Freddy Kruger's sharp claws gave a person when knife-like nails scraped against metal.

“How not nice to see you again,” Regina brusquely quipped.

Gold hummed in an attempt to stifle a satisfied chuckle. He limped further into the office and caused Regina to roll her eyes before she aggressively set her things down on her desk. His presence alone had upset her. He missed that.

“I decided to get out of the shop recently. I didn't think much was going on in this town, even with Ms. Swan's arrival, but now that I've asked for the sheriff's help I realized maybe there's more going on than what I'm seeing.”

“Your point, you little imp,” Regina darkly asked through gritted teeth.

“Well, I was out for a stroll earlier and saw our blonde friend driving around town with your boy. It's peculiar, especially when the only other person beside yourself to watch him is Kathryn Nolan and even she took a few years to gain your trust with him.”

Regina frustratedly sighed.

“We have an arrangement,” she reluctantly, grudgingly informed him.

“Do you now? I find it strange you would trust the boy to be with his birth mother. You're not worried she might try to take him from you?”

“As I said, we have an arrangement.”

“If there's no contract, it's not binding. Who's to say she won't break your little agreement about him? Are you truly trusting her not only with your son, but with the hope that the time she spends with him now will be enough?”

“Enough for what?”

“To keep her from legally trying to get custody of him, of course. I doubt you two have much involvement so it wouldn't be wrong to think she'd want a second chance at raising him by herself. How would you know she doesn't regret not being able to take care of him back then if you two really hate each other the way the town perceives you to?”

Her patience, already thin, began to vanish.

“If she tries, there's not a judge in all of Maine that would give her legal rights.”

“You sound sure of that, dearie.”

“I am sure. He may like spending time with her and she may entertain him while I'm at work, but she's done nothing to change his life for the better. She's assisted me in some way, as far as the courts would see it, but I did just fine with Henry before she came along and I can do just fine without her. If you were to compare Henry's life to what it was before she showed up and what it is now, there would be no difference. That's not something to rule by at a hearing.”

“Yes, but one could also argue she hasn't done anything to disrupt his life either. She may not be making drastic yet positive changes, but she hasn't made any negative ones either.”

“That's easy to say when she's not the one supporting him. If he lived solely with her, he wouldn't have everything I could and _have_ given him. She'd probably struggle to feed them while trying to pay rent off her horrid salary.”

Gold grinned.

“You forget she lives with Ms. Blanchard. That woman is kind and has known Henry for years. She adores him like he's family and I'm sure if her new friend and roommate were in trouble trying to provide for the boy, she'd help out however she could.”

Regina didn't want to believe him. She'd dealt with him far too long in both worlds she'd lived in, as the Evil Queen and as Mayor. She knew he only wanted to get inside her head. He was manipulative just like her mother. It's how he got what he wanted. Regina knew she'd done the same thing to others plenty of times before to do the same, but she had to learn it from somewhere and her mother wasn't the only teacher she had when it came to bad habits.

She took a deep breath and tried to relax. She didn't want to let him under her skin and she certainly didn't want him to know if that were the case no matter how hard she tried to resist.

“Is that all you came for? To interrogate me about Miss Swan?”

“I just wanted to give you a little friendly advice.”

“You gave it and now it's time for you to go,” Regina callously said as she shooed him with the wave of her hand.

He bowed his head in understanding.

“Hope to see you soon, Mayor Mills,” he said as he turned and limped out of the office.

Regina glared at the back of his figure while Gold made his exit. She placed a hand on top of the desk and leaned into it. She rested her weight on that hand as she set the other on her hip, displeased and utterly upset.

“That's not a hope we share,” she muttered once he was out of earshot.

She frowned as she tried not to think too much about what he'd said, but she couldn't help it. If her dream was true about Emma being the Savior, then it made sense what he said about Mary Margaret. If Emma were to take Henry from her, the annoying woman would do anything to help her daughter even if she didn't know that fact. The nagging feeling that she needed to help the blonde no matter how she felt about the situation would take over. Regina may have been able to take away their memories of the Enchanted Forest, but that was analytical and intellectual. Thinking didn't have even half the power emotion did and she knew that from experience.

Flustered and unnerved, Regina didn't make a move to go home like she had before Gold arrived. Instead, she huffed out a sigh and pushed off the desk. She noticed half of her coat hung off the edge of her desk. She flipped it until it lay in a folded heap on top of the desk then made her way toward the stairs, leaving all her things behind.

Emma walked with Henry up the pathway to the front porch, but frowned when she noticed the Mercedes wasn't in the driveway. She pulled out her phone and checked the time. Regina should have been off work thirty minutes ago. It wouldn't take her more than ten to get back home. She should have been there.

She didn't let the absence of the brunette's car deter her from her routine, though. She stopped in front of the door with Henry at her side and rang the doorbell. She waited a long minute with no response at all. No heels click-clacking against the hardwood, no extra lights being turned on inside, and no shuffling of various household items on the way to the door.

Emma rang the bell again and didn't wait as long without a response before she knocked on the door. Even as she knocked, she knew the mayor wouldn't answer. She knew the woman wasn't home, but she didn't want it to be true. Not that she didn't like spending extra time with Henry, but Regina was punctual. She never deviated from her schedule. Emma figured if Henry were sick or in the hospital, she'd make plenty of exceptions, but it wasn't the case that night. She was just gone.

Emma sighed then looked down at Henry who was already staring up at her, a little confused but not too concerned.

“Do you have your house key,” Emma asked.

“Yeah,” he said as he shucked off his backpack and unzipped the smallest compartment.

He reached in and pulled out a key similar to the spare key Emma had but couldn't use in front of him. He slid it into the lock then twisted it inside until the lock clicked. He held down the handle and pushed forward then went straight to the base of the stairs with his backpack. He left the door open wide for Emma to come inside as he set his backpack down on the first step. He put the key back inside it before he turned to the blonde.

“Where do you think she is,” Henry asked.

“Maybe she got held up at work,” Emma casually suggested though internally, she was a little worried.

She didn't know what to do.

“You're probably right,” Henry shrugged and nodded.

He didn't pick up on Emma's nervousness or concern. Either he was just an oblivious ten year old or Emma's acting skills were better than she'd thought.

“Want to watch a movie until she gets home,” Henry asked as he went into the living room.

“Uh, sure,” Emma slowly, awkwardly agreed.

Regina wasn't extremely late at that point so it wasn't a dire emergency. Emma could spend maybe another half an hour or so with Henry. It would just be one movie and by then, Regina was bound to walk in and apologize.

_Yeah,_ Emma tried to convince herself.  _You won't even make it to the credits before she comes back._

But the end credits appeared all too quickly as they scrolled up the screen. Panic set in and not because she was alone in the house with Henry. She'd already fed him and he was old enough to get whatever he needed himself, but that wasn't the issue. Regina hadn't come home.

Emma had earlier recognized the house to look exactly the way she left it that morning with the folded clothes in the basket. The Lion King DVD menu had been playing on the TV when she and Henry walked in. She hadn't seen Regina since their shared lunch break and it was almost nine as the credits rolled.

Henry furrowed his brow and frowned as he checked the time.

“She's never this late. At least not if she doesn't have Ms. Nolan come over to watch me.”

Emma sighed as she struggled to hide the worry in her eyes when she looked at him.

“I'm gonna find her and see if she's okay,” Emma told him.

“Can I go with you?”

“No. You're gonna stay here.”

“Alone?”

“Of course not.”

Emma pulled out her phone and called Mary Margaret.

“You said a few minutes,” Mary Margaret frantically greeted Emma over the phone with concern. “It's been over an hour.”

“I know. I'm sorry. I should've sent a text or something. Regina's not here. She hasn't been home since I brought Henry back so I stayed with him to wait it out. We watched a movie and I thought she'd be back before it was over, but now... Look, I don't want to put any pressure on you, but could you come to the house and watch Henry? I'm gonna see if I can find Regina.”

“Of course. I'm on my way,” Mary Margaret said as Emma heard shuffling from the other end.

She assumed Mary Margaret was quickly getting ready.

“Thanks. I'll see you soon,” Emma said before they both hung up.

Town Hall was quiet. No lights were on inside the building, but if it weren't for Regina's Mercedes parked in the nearby lot Emma would've thought the worst. She didn't know when thoughts like that started to infect her mind, but they had. As much as Regina could anger her, she then also caused the blonde great concern.

Emma's head told her to try the door, but her heart pounded in the direction of the yard behind the building. As if on autopilot, she followed her heart and went around back. Within seconds, her concern disappeared.

Regina stood in front of her apple tree with an apple in her hand. She intently stared at the fruit before she gently squeezed it a few times like a stress ball.

From her distance in the dark, Emma couldn't tell much more than that. She calmly closed the space between her and Regina until she could make out more than the brunette's silhouette.

“What are you still doing here,” Emma asked. “Do you know what time it is?”

Emma tried not to sound too much like a worried parent scolding their kid for being out past curfew, but both she and Regina picked up on that particular edge in her voice.

“I had a few things to finish up here,” Regina flatly, almost mindlessly, stated.

She didn't pay much attention to Emma, barely even looked at her when she gave the blonde her excuse.

“I've been with Henry the last hour and a half. Even longer if you count the fact that we were late to show up at your house!”

Gold's words settled in again as Regina squeezed the apple without hesitation. It was soft and discolored, but it didn't turn to mush. Instead, her fingertips bruised the apple where they harshly pressed into it before she violently threw the dying fruit onto the grass by her feet.

“I was busy,” the brunette growled.

“You have my number. You should've told me,” Emma argued as she tensed.

She didn't want to fight Regina, but she recognized all the signs of the older woman preparing to do so.

“Contrary to what you might believe, I don't have to run anything by you. He's _my_ son and I figured if I stayed late he could take care of himself. And in case you didn't think so, I thought a little too highly of you, if I'm being honest, and figured you'd watch him until I got back.”

“I did! That wasn't the problem.”

“Is wasn't,” Regina rhetorically asked as she stepped closer to the sheriff. “Then what was the problem?”

“You. I didn't know where you were and you're not me. You're not late or unreliable. You haven't been home since this morning. I thought...” Emma trailed off, not wanting to admit what went on inside her head to the older, intimidating woman.

“You thought what, dear,” Regina furrowed her brow, but kept her glare ice cold yet predatory.

Emma huffed out a defeated and frustrated sigh.

“Nothing. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that you're okay and you're not so busy now. Mary Margaret's at the house now watching Henry. I don't want to keep her there all night.”

“You let Miss Blanchard into my house?!”

Emma could tell not only by the authoritative boom in her voice, but also by her towering presence that Regina wasn't at all pleased.

Enraged, Regina stood nose to nose with the younger woman and clenched her jaw shut tight. Her eyes were fixed intensely on the sheriff as her gaze could easily burn holes into any object, but didn't.

Emma stayed strong. She still didn't want to fight, but Regina clearly did and she wasn't going to cower because of it. She stood defensively and refused to start anything. If Regina wanted it, she'd be the offender and attack first.

“I didn't have anyone else to call.”

“You could've called me.”

“You wouldn't have come.”

“You don't know that.”

“You're here staring at apples! You weren't busy, you were avoiding something.”

“What I do with my spare time is none of your business.”

“It is when it involves Henry.”

“He's not yours to worry about.”

“Maybe not legally, but I was the one watching him and he's my son too.”

A flicker of fury appeared in Regina's darkened eyes.

Before Emma could react, Regina grabbed her biceps and spun the sheriff around. She threw Emma against the rough bark of the tree and punched her in the stomach.

Emma grunted and fell forward as the air left her lungs.

Regina didn't give her time to breathe before she forced the blonde to straighten up. She pressed her palm against the front of Emma's shoulder and shoved the blonde's back against the tree a second time. She wasn't one to do a lot of punching, but her body felt like a coil pressed too tightly then suddenly springing to life. She couldn't contain herself or her actions though she knew what she was doing.

Nevertheless, she gave only punch before she relied on other forms of punishment. She quickly leaned in and bit Emma's collarbone. The younger woman clawed at Regina's shoulders as she shied away from the brunette's teeth.

Regina didn't let up. She bit harder as Emma cringed and aggressively placed a leg between Emma's. She released Emma's bruising skin after a few more seconds then tossed her to the ground in front of the tree. She followed Emma to the grass and straddled her before she wrapped a hand around Emma's neck.

Emma's eyes went wide as she fought for air. She rested her hands on Regina's wrists and tried to rake her nails over olive skin to stop the brunette. It wasn't enough.

Regina wickedly grinned as she enjoyed the sight of Emma's curls as they flowed around her head in the grass. Though her expression was strained and she choked out sounds of discomfort due to Regina's death grip, the older woman still managed to find Emma attractive.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut. The look in the other woman's darkened brown eyes frightened her as Regina appeared deranged and distraught. She didn't seem like herself and Emma couldn't stand the sight. It was off putting to say the least, and though she didn't completely revel in being strangled the first time that day, at least then she didn't feel threatened. At that point, Regina hadn't made it a game. There was nothing sexual or sensual about it. The woman was set in her ways and Emma feared she'd actually kill her like they had talked about in the back of Emma's car.

Emma opened her eyes again, though she could feel herself slipping into a state of unconsciousness. She fought hard to keep them open as she shakily moved her hands from Regina's wrists to her hair. She pressed her hand against the back of Regina's head, doing the only thing she thought to do. She wasn't sure it would work, but even if it didn't save her life, she'd at least die with a sinfully intoxicating taste on her lips.

She used every last bit of strength she had and brought Regina's mouth to hers. She could only brush her lips against Regina's, but it didn't matter. That was enough.

Regina furrowed her brows in confusion as she closed her eyes and allowed Emma's lips to tease hers. The sensation reminded her of the time she magically broke the table in the study. The night they shared their first kiss.

The darkness she'd been fighting with since her massage at the apartment started to subside. It didn't disappear completely, but for the time being Regina felt herself normalize. She felt calm and stable, something she hadn't been since her dream about Emma, which the more she thought about it, the more she realized what a nightmare it had turned into.

She let go of Emma's neck and placed her hands on either side of Emma's head. She unintentionally pinned the blonde to the grass by her curls as she kept her lips close to Emma's and opened her eyes.

Emma gasped for air and tried to sit up, but she only tugged at her hair due to the position of Regina's hands. She turned away from Regina and coughed several times before she could even pant. When she could breathe, only erratically at the time, she turned back to look up at Regina.

“I'm sorry,” the brunette apologized. “I just...there's things you don't understand.”

“Like you? Trying to kill me,” Emma asked as she continued to pant, still a bit breathless.

“You said something that set me off. I've been a little on edge lately.”

Emma tried to take a deep breath. She scrunched up her face before she turned and coughed a few more times.

“If I could tell you what was going on, I...” Regina trailed off as she realized what she was about to confess to the younger woman. “Never mind. Are you okay?”

Regina sat up into her original straddling position. She brought her hands toward her lap and rested them lazily on Emma's stomach.

“Yeah,” Emma said after a moment when she turned to face Regina again. “I don't get it.”

“What?”

“Every time I do something nice for you or tell you stuff like, 'I was concerned about you' you hurt me. Why?”

“I...” Regina trailed off as she tried not to lower her guard and admit the truth.

“Are _you_ okay,” Emma asked as she studied Regina's distant expression for a moment.

When Regina met caring green eyes, her demeanor changed from distant to sad and troubled. She rolled off of Emma and laid on the grass beside the blonde.

“No,” Regina honestly confessed as she stared up at the night sky.

Emma looked at Regina as she continued to lay on her back. Regina seemed lost and disappointed. She didn't know what to do or say, but her heart suddenly took over and she rolled on her side to give the brunette her full attention.

“Is there something you want to talk about,” Emma asked.

Regina sighed and continued to stare at the sky for a moment longer before she turned her head and stared into Emma's eyes.

“Maybe,” she almost sheepishly replied.

Emma propped herself up onto one of her elbows before she rolled halfway on top of Regina. She leaned in and chastely kissed the regal woman.

“I'll listen.”

Regina just stared up at her for a moment before she shook her head, never breaking eye contact with the blonde.

“Just kiss me.”

Emma, without another word, leaned in and kissed her again. It was chaste and sweet like the one before it. She pulled back and stared into brown eyes, not as dark as they used to be but gradually filling with need and desire.

“Kiss me until the sun comes up,” Regina requested.

Normally, it would've been a command, but the change in the mayor's mood seemed to have a greater affect on the brunette than either woman realized.

Emma didn't think too much about it as she obliged. She didn't think the two of them would last until sunrise, but she could certainly try. If anything, she'd kiss her until one of them fell asleep and hopefully that would suffice.

 


	18. Chapter 18

Sunrise.

The pink and orange sky never looked as beautiful as it did with Regina underneath it, breath taking in the soft morning light.

Emma sweetly sucked on Regina's bottom lip as she rested a leg between Regina's, her thigh pressed against the mayor's hip.

When she released Regina's lip, she pulled back at stared at the brunette beneath her. She pushed a strand of cropped hair behind Regina's ear and subtly smiled.

“Again,” Regina huskily demanded, sleepiness evident in her voice.

Neither one of them had gone to sleep yet. They had drifted off for an hour at the most not too long ago, but it was all they had to go on for the day.

Emma gave Regina another slow, lingering kiss. It was sensual and unlike their normal pace or style when it came to their physicality. It had happened maybe once before and, as incredible as it had previously felt, it was different then.

Regina had a lot on her mind before she'd asked Emma to kiss her. If the blonde knew half the things she had thought about, though she hadn't wanted to think them, the sheriff probably wouldn't have stayed with her.

But if Emma hadn't stayed, Regina feared the things she might have done. In all honesty, the younger woman had saved her from herself. The voices inside her head were unbelievably negative and strong. She knew the voices were only that, voices, but she also knew they held some truth.

Had Cora been in Storybrooke, she would have told Regina to fool Emma. She would have told her to make sure the blonde received every last painful trick in the evil book of wicked sorceresses, though Cora would never call it that. And she probably wouldn't tell Regina to have a lot of rough and intriguing sex with the woman either. That was all part of Regina's plan, something fun to keep her hands busy. Something to challenge her after the twenty-eight year snooze fest she'd lived through before Henry brought the train wreck of a woman to town.

Emma hummed against Regina's chest as she kissed down the brunette's sternum. As tired as she was, Emma enjoyed the feel of Regina beneath her at a time like that. She hadn't learned anything new about the mayor, but she did what she could to kiss the woman until sunrise as desired. Except for their little nap, she'd succeeded.

“I think this is the first time we've ever kissed and it didn't lead to sex,” Emma stated with a small, victorious smile before she kissed Regina's collarbone.

Emma was careful with her kisses. Anytime she moved south, she always came back up before things became too lustful or devious.

“Talk about it like that again and it only happens this once,” Regina firmly, strictly informed her.

“Oh, so you plan on making this a regular thing then,” Emma asked, though it sounded more like a blissfully cocky statement.

Regina looked up at Emma as the blonde stopped kissing her to make eye contact.

“No, I don't plan on that, but if you say anything more about it I'll make sure it never happens again. I doubt you want me to do what I did to you yesterday in my car all the time. A girl needs a little foreplay, right? And time to heal from constant orgasms? One right after the other.”

Emma shook her head with a smirk. She bit her bottom lip as she continued to stare into Regina's brown eyes.

“Fine. Then what would you rather talk about instead,” Emma asked.

Regina reached between them and slipped a hand inside Emma's jeans.

“Nothing. I don't want to talk,” Regina purred, a wild glimmer of desire in her darkening eyes.

Emma gasped at the teasing contact Regina's fingers made with her sex. Instinctively, her body moved forward and arched into Regina's touch to feel more of the brunette.

“We were doing so well,” Emma said as she felt a mix of emotion between allowing Regina to get her way or stopping the mayor to get even a slightly revealing conversation out of the woman.

“I'm not that kind of person, dear.”

“What kind of person,” Emma asked as Regina's fingers slipped further between her folds.

Emma gulped then parted her lips before she tried to take a deep breath. She pulled herself up Regina's body to bring the brunette's fingers closer to her opening. In the process, she moved her breasts in front of Regina's face.

“The sweet and slow kind. I like it fast, hard, and _rough_ ,” Regina emphasized her last word by scraping her thumb nail over Emma's clit as she plunged a single finger into Emma.

Emma closed her eyes and moaned as she felt a warmth spread between her legs. She pulled her center away from Regina only to slide back onto it as she started a slow, steady pace.

Regina permitted Emma to ride her finger only a few times before she put an end to it. When Emma pulled away, Regina curled her finger toward herself after she removed it from the blonde.

Emma moved forward to bring herself onto the finger, but felt only the knuckle reach her opening. She groaned as she stopped her movements and opened her eyes.

Regina grinned with satisfaction when Emma met her gaze.

“Are you sore,” Regina asked.

“Yeah,” Emma nodded.

“Fun,” Regina purred as a wicked gleam flashed in her eyes.

Without warning, Regina thrust four fingers into Emma.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut at the sharp pain Regina had caused and let out a strangled moan.

Regina quickly pumped in and out of Emma a few times before Emma tried to form a word.

“No,” Emma breathlessly said when Regina had thrust into her a fifth time.

“No what, dear,” Regina asked as she continued to move in and out of the younger woman.

“We're gonna talk,” Emma said as she reached between them and grabbed Regina's wrist.

Regina frowned and bitterly glared at Emma as green eyes met her brown ones.

“I told you, I don't want to talk,” Regina growled as she pushed against Emma's hold on her.

Emma held Regina's wrist tighter and pushed back. She didn't want what Regina offered. Not in that moment, not when she had the chance to watch the sun rise with the brunette.

“I'm saying no,” Emma firmly said as she stared into Regina's eyes.

Regina, though still angry about being denied, searched Emma's eyes and recognized what the blonde was really saying. Her expression softened and she tugged her hand away from the sheriff. She carelessly rested her hand at her side in the grass.

“Thank you,” Emma said after a moment then leaned in and kissed Regina on the lips.

Regina rolled her eyes.

“It's not a big deal,” she dismissively said.

Emma smiled at Regina, though the brunette refused to make eye contact. When Regina finally did look up at her again, Emma's smile disappeared.

“One of these days, I'm gonna get you to talk to me,” Emma said.

“Not in this life.”

“We'll see,” Emma said as her smile returned, though it quickly turned into a small, crooked smirk.

“I have to get to work soon,” Regina said as she changed the subject.

“Not a problem since you're already at your office.”

“If anyone comes back here and sees us together-”

“Who's gonna see? You're the only one that comes back here.”

“When I'm not in my office, this is the first place on the premises they'll come to look for me.”

“No one's coming to see you,” Emma said before she kissed Regina's neck.

Regina easily closed her eyes as she relaxed. She stifled a moan as not to encourage Emma, though she wanted to, before she spoke.

“Someone always comes to see me,” Regina replied as she kept her eyes closed.

Emma kissed her again in the same spot.

Regina tilted her head back in response and exposed more of her neck to Emma.

Emma pulled out her phone and checked the time as she started to suck on the area she'd kissed twice by then.

“We've got plenty of time,” Emma said before she kissed then sucked Regina's neck again.

“I thought you didn't want this to lead to sex,” Regina said, her eyes still closed as she squirmed beneath the blonde to press her body against Emma's.

“I thought you didn't want to talk,” Emma quipped before she moved her body against Regina's as she felt the mayor's breasts and stomach brush against her.

“I don't,” Regina said.

“Just like I still don't want this to lead to sex.”

“Well, keep doing what you're doing,” Regina started before she already had to catch her breath. “It will.”

“It's just a little heavy petting,” Emma said as she started to grind against Regina, both of them still fully clothed.

Regina brought her hands to Emma's hips and clawed at the younger woman's jeans. She hooked her fingers into unused belt loops on either side of the blonde and pulled Emma flush against her.

“Don't ever call it that again. It makes it sound like we're on some farm,” Regina said as she started to pant.

She opened her eyes for a moment when felt Emma move away from her neck. She stared up at Emma as they rubbed against each other at a matched pace.

“Aw, Regina doesn't like farms,” Emma sardonically teased.

Regina throatily chuckled as she pressed harder into Emma.

Both woman moaned in unison, their tones low as they drew out the sound for several seconds.

“You don't know nearly enough about me to know how I feel about farms.”

“Is that so,” Emma stated as she started to pant, Regina already at a loss for breath.

“I'll have you know, I grew up around horses. I was at the stables at least once a week and had riding lessons. I was good.”

Emma smiled.

“I bet. The way you ride _me_ all the time,” Emma let the statement speak for itself instead of finishing it.

“Except I don't mistreat my horses like I mistreat you,” Regina added in response to Emma's comment.

“The horses get more respect than me?”

“And they always will, dear.”

“Even though I'm the only one that can do this,” Emma said before she fluidly slid both of her legs between Regina.

She used her knees to part the mayor's legs as far as the brunette's pencil skirt would allow. She the slid down Regina's body a bit and continued to grind against her, that time with her jean covered center against Regina's thin panties.

The button on Emma's jeans ran up the length of Regina's folds through the panties, the blonde pressed firmly against her sex as she moved.

Regina closed her eyes as she moaned in a higher pitch than either woman had heard come from her. She arched her back to feel more of Emma and slid her hands down Emma's jeans, from her belt loops to the blonde's ass, and gripped both cheeks with need and lust.

Emma had successfully made Regina wet and both of them knew it. Emma felt it against her jeans while Regina felt the heat increase between her thighs.

“You might not want it, but I do,” Regina rasped out as she bucked her hips to push her center against Emma's.

Emma leaned down and passionately kissed Regina on the lips.

“As soon as you admit the horses won't _always_ get better treatment from you than I will.”

Emma used one hand to hike up Regina's skirt while the other kept her balance. She pushed Regina's skirt up to the brunette's hip then switched hands to do the same to the other half of the skirt.

“Never,” Regina said only slightly above a whisper.

With the skirt mostly out of the way, Emma maneuvered her arms under Regina's legs and balanced herself on her forearms. She gripped Regina's hips, a ninety degree angle at her elbows in her new position, and rammed her center against Regina's. When she made contact, she slid up Regina's sex to tease her as the backs of Regina's thighs almost rested in the angle made at Emma's elbows. She continued to slam herself against Regina then teasingly scrape her button between Regina's folds.

Regina's hands moved up Emma's back as the blonde collided with her like tackling football players. One hand quickly found blonde curls and her fingers immediately tangled in them. Her other hand shot to her mouth as she muffled a particularly loud moan.

Emma used her teeth to pull Regina's blouse out of her skirt then licked the mayor's lower abdomen to push the blouse up toward her navel. She wanted the button up out of her way and when she achieved that goal. She kissed and sucked on Regina's stomach just above the brunette's skirt.

Regina gripped Emma's hair tighter and held the woman's mouth flat against her skin.

Emma moved up to Regina's belly button and nipped at the skin surrounding it. She licked and kissed and sucked before she dipped her tongue inside her belly button.

Regina's hand fell away from her mouth and into the grass to dig her nails into it. She grabbed a fistful of grass and the dirt beneath it as cried out in anticipation.

Emma grinned and pulled her mouth away from Regina's skin to look at the frazzled brunette, her eyes shut tight.

“Say it,” Emma commanded.

“No,” Regina tried to stick to her original decision.

Emma reached down between them as she pulled her center away from Regina's. She pulled Regina's panties to the side with her index finger then ran it between the mayor's folds from opening to clit.

Regina's breath hitched before she emitted a soft moan. She opened her eyes when Emma's finger refused to touch her anymore and soon found herself staring into green eyes, darker than usual as she brought her coated finger to her mouth.

Regina gulped as she watched Emma hesitate, though she knew the one thing she didn't want the blonde to do was inevitable.

Emma smirked before she wrapped her lips around her finger and sucked it clean of Regina's wetness.

Regina sighed with relief as both she and Emma felt her replace the juices Emma had taken from center.

That was the reason she hadn't wanted Emma to do it.

She dropped her head back down into the grass as she stared up at the sky.

Emma bit her lip as she tried to keep her cat-ate-the-canary grin from spreading across her entire face. She put her hand back where she'd had it in the grass before she moved Regina's panties then resumed her rough slamming motion.

“Say it and you'll feel better. I promise,” Emma wickedly grinned as she spoke in a dark, lust filled tone.

Regina moaned again and clamped her legs around Emma's hips as she tried to hold the sheriff close to her.

Emma looked absolutely evil as she recognized Regina's faltering state. She could tell Regina needed more, a harder touch to make up for the absence of slender fingers. Emma didn't think she'd satisfy Regina completely if she obliged the brunette and she'd still be able to get what she wanted.

Emma, with limited ability to move as Regina encased her lower half with her toned thighs, continued her rapid and forceful brush up with her jeans. There was less distance between their centers as she slammed into Regina with as much energy as she previously had, but when she pulled away, the button on her jeans hovered just in front of Regina's sex instead of fleeing a few inches from it. That pleased Regina immensely as Emma felt the other woman's warmth dampen the front of her jeans.

The button scraped between Regina's folds and briefly pressed into her clit before Emma pulled away and crashed into her again.

Regina let out another strangled moan as she tried not to make a sound at all. She tried to pull Emma's mouth closer to her stomach once again as she held on tightly to blonde curls, but Emma fought it. Regina groaned in response.

“Say it,” Emma said.

“Why do you want me to admit that? Out of everything else you could get me to say, that's what you're teasing me about?”

“It means more than just saying I'm more respectable than an animal and you know it,” Emma argued.

Regina knew that to be the truth. If she said she would treat Emma better than her horses, it would be the same as confessing that Emma was more than some whore or piece of meat. It was a reach in terms of interpretation, but with the way Regina continued to put Emma down, any admission that Regina prioritized her above something else would be a victory for the blonde.

Emma changed up her actions and focused solely on Regina's clit. She pressed the button of her jeans into Regina and moved her hips in a circular motion. With each full circle she made, Emma would pull away then push against Regina.

Regina's thighs twitched and held Emma even tighter. She couldn't help how increasingly wet she became at Emma's new, tempting touch.

“Damn,” Regina growled as she knew she'd lost. “I don't always treat the horses better than you.”

Emma beamed, a satisfied grin plastered on her face as she watched Regina admit defeat. She reached down between them again and slipped three fingers inside the mayor with ease.

“How do you want it,” Emma asked.

“Fast and hard,” Regina closed her eyes and answered as she refused to make eye contact with the blonde.

Regina opened her eyes after a couple seconds to stare up at the sky. Soon after she did, Emma started a record breaking pace as she thrust in and out of her. Her breath hitched as she bit her lip. She tried to keep her eyes open as she watched the sky gradually change colors. She removed her hand from Emma's curls and let go of the grass beneath her dirtied fingernails. She brought both of them above her head and kept them there as she willingly let Emma fuck her.

Everything she'd experienced in the Enchanted Forest, her arranged marriage to King Leopold, the night's she spent underneath the old, wheezing man trying to satisfy him though she didn't want to, her mother using magic on her, Rumpelstiltskin teaching her magic, her transformation from the Queen to the Evil Queen all came flooding into the forefront of her mind.

Emma could tell as pleasurable as her brute force was for Regina, the brunette seemed disinterested, like she hadn't told Emma what she really wanted.

“Hey,” Emma said as she slowed her pace and moved up Regina's body.

Regina didn't move, but she did look down at Emma as the younger woman slithered up to eye level with her.

“Where do you think you're going,” Emma asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You're not in this. You're just letting it happen. What's wrong?”

Emma stopped completely as she waited for an answer. She kept her hand up Regina's skirt, her fingers unmoving inside the mayor.

Regina shook her head.

“I've...got a lot on my mind.”

“But you don't want to talk about it.”

“No, I don't.”

Emma frustratedly sighed.

“Fine, then at least tell me what you really want.”

“What I want is for you to finish what you started.”

“And how would you prefer I do that?”

“I already told you.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Guess I'll have to figure it out myself then,” Emma said with bitter determination as she started to pump in and out of Regina at a quick pace that wasn't as fast as her previous one.

Regina briefly closed her eyes as she hummed in appreciation for the new tempo Emma set.

Emma was moving in the right direction. She saw the change in Regina, but it wasn't a state Regina would get the most pleasure. She locked eyes with Regina for a split second before the brunette turned her head to look at Town Hall.

Emma slowed her pace. It was still a little quick, but she'd slowed it down a lot since her first attempt at satisfying the woman beneath her.

Regina bit her bottom lip as she started to squirm under Emma and her back momentarily arched.

Emma slowed down again until she eased her fingers in and out of Regina, no force, no aggression, no rush. She moved inside Regina as though they had all the time in the world.

Regina closed her eyes and moaned as she dragged the backs of her hands through the grass to rest on either side of her head. She turned away from Town Hall and opened her eyes. She was immediately met with green eyes, Emma having never taken her eyes off Regina for even a second.

Emma looked into Regina's eyes and suddenly noticed the vulnerability followed by a flash of fear in them.

“It's okay,” Emma reassured her. “Nothing changes, right?”

Regina silently stared up at Emma for a long moment before she spoke.

“Right.”

“We don't have to talk about it after,” Emma quietly told her.

It was the slowest they'd moved together. They were rough and quick, teasing and painfully playful. They'd never taken their time. They'd never shared such an intimate moment as they did while Emma tenderly slid in and out like a ticking clock as it counted the seconds in every minute.

Regina hadn't shared as many caring moments as she had with Emma in all her life. She didn't want to admit that she liked the way Emma looked at her, the way she touched her. It didn't matter how rough or soft, how fast or slow she did it. Emma always seemed to find a rhythm with her and Regina had never been with someone that could match her cadence, sexually or not, as much as it seemed to change. She wasn't even sure if she'd had that with Daniel.

Regina gulped as she kept staring into green eyes. She parted her lips and took a deep breath that hitched every so often before she could fill her lungs. She slowly reached down and unbuttoned Emma's jeans, her eyes never leaving Emma's. She unzipped the jeans soon after then gently pulled them down Emma's thighs.

“Skin on skin,” Emma asked as she tried to read Regina's eyes as well as her actions.

Regina nodded.

Emma removed her fingers from Regina and finished what the brunette started. She stood and pulled her jeans down to her ankles. She kicked them toward the apple tree and they casually rested against the tree trunk in a wrinkled clump.

Regina sat up and unbuttoned her blouse. After a short while, she reached for a button halfway down her blouse when she looked up at Emma.

As though Emma had waited for Regina's attention to do so, she gracefully pushed her panties down her legs. She stepped out of them and tossed them on top of her jeans. When she stood up straight, Regina let her eyes wander down to Emma's newly exposed skin. She'd had Emma completely naked in front of her before, but she hadn't inspected the blonde closely and certainly not in perfect lighting. The morning sky gave Emma's pale skin a pleasingly warm glow regardless of all the injuries she'd suffered by Regina's frequent attacks.

Emma didn't usually like to be stared at too closely, but she felt Regina's walls crumbling the further they took things under the honey crisp tree Regina seemed so fond of.

Regina scanned her eyes back up Emma's body and locked eyes with the blonde. She flashed a small, almost undetectable smile at Emma then unbuttoned the rest of her blouse. She looked back up at Emma as the blonde stepped closer before she shrugged out of the blouse. The white dress shirt fell down her arms and landed angelically in the grass behind her.

Regina reached around herself and grabbed her skirt's zipper.

“No,” Emma shook her head as she knelt between Regina's legs. “Let me.”

Regina looked surprised, but after a moment of staring into Emma's kind green eyes, she brought her hands down to her sides and pressed her palms into the grass by her hips.

Emma reached around Regina and unzipped the skirt. She grabbed the material and started to pull it down.

Regina pushed off her hands and lifted her backside off the ground to help Emma remove the skirt.

When Emma freed Regina from the skirt, she carefully set it aside nearby. She grabbed Regina's blouse and placed it on top of the skirt to her right. She took in the sight of Regina in nothing but her bra and panties. It was the most of the brunette she'd ever seen at one time.

Emma leaned in and pressed the heel of her palm against Regina's stomach just above her hip as she kissed her. Her fingers wrapped around Regina's side and lightly pressed into her back as her kiss went from sweet to passionate after a long moment.

When Emma broke the kiss, she pulled back enough to look Regina in the eyes.

“Bra and underwear too,” Emma asked.

Regina nodded.

Emma reached up to get rid of Regina's bra, but Regina held up her hand and gently pushed against Emma's shoulder.

“You first,” Regina said.

Emma stared at Regina for a moment as she continued to see the vulnerability in the brunette's eyes.

“Okay,” Emma agreed.

Emma grabbed the hem of her shirt and peeled it off before she tossed in the same direction of the rest of her clothes. She reached behind herself and unhooked her bra as Regina watched. She slowly pulled the material down her arms and exposed herself to Regina. Nothing masked her body as she knelt in front of the brunette.

Regina could see all of her in the sunlight. She raked her eyes over Emma's front, from milky thighs to cornsilk curls that cascaded past her shoulders. When their eyes locked, Emma slowly leaned forward.

Emma watched Regina to make sure the brunette didn't protest at the last minute.

She hadn't.

Emma undid Regina's bra and slid it down her arms. She bit her lip the instant she saw Regina's nipples peek out of the bra. Though she wanted nothing more to throw the bra anywhere in the yard so she could start satisfying Regina, she put it down just as carefully as she had before in the neat pile of Regina's clothes she'd set off to the side. She was considerate with everything involving Regina, her clothes, her feelings, her body. 

Emma ran her eyes up from Regina's breasts to her brown eyes.

“Gorgeous,” she whispered before she leaned in and kissed the valley between Regina's breasts.

Regina relaxed her eyes shut and her breasts heaved as she calmly gasped, a quick inhale of breath as she reveled in the feel of Emma's lips on her skin. She slowly tipped her head back and hummed.

Emma hadn't planned on it, but she kissed Regina again after she heard the woman hum. She licked the patch of skin between her lips then lightly scraped her teeth over the area before she kissed it again. After the kiss, she moved up Regina's body again.

Regina's head was still tipped back when Emma reached her neck. Emma took the opportunity to kiss the base of Regina's throat then moved to the side and kissed her pulse point. She sucked on it after the kiss and elicited a low moan from the brunette.

Emma pulled back and stared at Regina in her peaceful state. Her eyes were closed and she seemed calm, her demeanor soft and relaxed.

It wasn't until Emma's hot breath reached Regina's lips that the brunette lifted her head. She opened her eyes and briefly met Emma's gaze before they kissed. She cupped the right side of Emma's face with her left hand as they did.

Emma pressed her lips harder against Regina's with every kiss until she started to push her body forward, into Regina.

Regina normally would've fought it and allowed the blonde to brush their bodies together, but that time she gave in. As Emma moved forward, Regina moved back. She laid on the grass, Emma on top of her yet again, as they continued to kiss.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Emma broke the kiss and stared at Regina until brown eyes stared up at her. Only then did she hook her fingers into the panty line of Regina's thin underwear. She hesitated as she looked to Regina for an excuse to stop. Regina didn't give one.

Emma thought it over and released her light grip on Regina's panties. She got up and went to her forgotten red leather jacket tossed near the opposite side of the tree her clothes lay.

Regina stared after her, confused and slightly disappointed.

Emma picked up her jacket and knelt in front of Regina with it.

“Want to put this under you...so you don't have grass poking you,” Emma asked as she held up the jacket.

Regina made an “oh” face out of realization that Emma was being considerate.

“Why _your_ jacket and not any of my clothes,” Regina asked.

“In case there's a mess,” Emma provided.

Regina fought off a smile as she felt flattered that Emma cared enough about Regina to not only find something somewhat comfortable to lay on, but her jacket of all things she could have picked. She hadn't bothered to learn much about the blonde, but she'd observed her enough times to know Emma wore that jacket more than any other she'd seen the blonde in. She had deduced it was Emma's favorite jacket and yet, there she was offering it to be placed under Regina's exposed body knowing there might be a mess to clean off it later.

“Do you want it under you,” Emma asked again as calmly as she had the first time.

“Yes,” Regina said as she successfully hid her smile.

Regina lifted her backside off the grass and Emma slipped the jacket under her. Regina sat on the jacket and seconds later, felt Emma's hands on either hip as she sunk her fingers into her panties. She grabbed one of Emma's wrists and caused the blonde to stop and look at her.

“Thank you,” Regina said, devoid of a smile though her eyes expressed her sincerity.

Emma warmly smiled, but didn't say anything. She stared at Regina a moment longer then removed Regina's panties.

Regina lifted herself a second time to help Emma.

Emma was as caring about Regina's underwear as she had been the rest of the mayor's clothes. Emma added them to the pile then focused on Regina's uncovered sex. She bit her bottom lip as she had when she saw Regina's breasts then met the brunette's gaze.

She slipped two fingers inside Regina and watched the brunette's breath hitch. She leaned in and kissed Regina until she eased her onto her back in the grass again. She pulled away and stared down at Regina as she started up her slow pace again. She pressed her center against Regina's as best she could with her hand between them and began to grind against the mayor as her fingers moved in and out.

Regina let out a moan and opened her eyes. She found Emma's eyes and locked onto to them. She wouldn't, no, couldn't, look anywhere else.

Emma stared back at Regina and felt the intensity in her gaze. She gave as much of that intensity back as she could before she lowered her mouth to Regina's neck. She kissed her way down to Regina's breasts before she captured a hardened nipple between her lips. She sucked and licked several times as Regina arched her back to press further into her touch.

Regina moved with Emma as they had when they were fully clothed. She slid onto Emma's fingers as Emma slipped inside her.

Emma came up to kiss her on the lips again. She brushed her lips over Regina's then fell into place with them before she kissed her. When the chaste, tender kiss ended, Emma sucked on Regina's bottom lip. She pressed her body flush against Regina's and moved with the brunette. They had a good rhythm going as they started to lose their breath.

Emma kissed her again, that time more inviting as she she gently pushed her tongue past parted lips.

Their tongues danced together as they felt around, their hands exploring each others' bodies as their tongues explored each others' mouths.

Emma added a third finger and curled them inside Regina.

Regina broke their kiss as she turned in the direction of the tree, her eyes still closed as she emitted a soft moan Emma wouldn't have heard had the blonde not been so close to her.

Regina raised her hands above her head again and pressed them into grass as she tried not to touch Emma. She barely had enough self-restraint to do it.

Emma noticed where Regina's hands had gone, but as the brunette panted beneath her she knew it wasn't because of her previous reasoning.

“Why aren't you touching me,” Emma asked.

Regina opened her eyes and looked straight into Emma's.

“If I do that, this all becomes real.”

“Like everything else we've done together wasn't?”

Emma had a point. Honestly, other than Henry, Emma was the only thing in Storybrooke that was real. Everything else was based off a curse used to trap Snow White and her people in a foreign land without their memories. Instead, their memories had all been forged as they continued to believe they belonged in the land without magic Regina had brought them to. None of her interactions with them would be real or genuine. But that's not how it was with Emma.

_Everything with her is real,_ Regina thought. 

“Regina,” Emma asked out of concern as she slowed her pace almost to a complete stop.

Regina met her gaze and forced a smile.

“I'm okay. Keep going.”

“Are you sure?”

“Miss Swan,” Regina tried to use her authoritative voice, only half successful. “If you don't finish, I have several ways of making you regret your decision.”

“Right,” Emma grinned as she resumed her previous pace.

She kissed the crook of Regina's neck then briefly sucked.

Regina hummed.

Emma rubbed her thumb in circles around Regina's clit.

Regina nearly hissed in pleasure as she bucked her hips and bit her bottom lip.

Emma kissed up Regina's neck and stopped just below Regina's ear. She flicked the brunette's earlobe with the tip of her tongue then nipped it with her teeth before she sucked on it.

Regina brought a hand to Emma's hair and twisted her fingers around loose curls. She gripped a handful of hair and gently pulled Emma's mouth down to her shoulder.

Emma let Regina guide her. When the mayor stopped her at Regina's shoulder, she took the reins and kissed her there. She gently, carefully bit her after and received a sigh of pleasure. She moved further down and made a trail of wet kisses over one of Regina's breasts until she sucked on the neglected nipple Emma had previously ignored for the other.

Regina gasped then released the breath in a moan as Emma created more friction between their sexes.

Emma twisted her fingers inside Regina as she searched for that spot, the one she'd hit a few times before that guaranteed Regina's release. She changed her circular patterns over Regina's clit into a stroking movement, up and down to match the in and out motion of her fingers.

Emma, as kindly as she could, pushed deeper inside Regina. She buried her fingers just past the knuckles when Regina let out a loud moan.

She'd found the spot.

Emma smiled, a little proud of finding the spot and slightly happy to see another side of Regina slowing things down had shown her.

She kept the same steady pace and repeated her previous action as she hit the spot again.

Regina bit her bottom lip again, harder than the last time.

Emma sucked on Regina's nipple with a little more force then pulled away with a soft pop. She kissed her way to the valley between Regina's breasts then up her sternum.

Regina extended her neck and Emma kissed up her throat.

Emma passed Regina's jaw and went straight for her lips. She passionately kissed Regina as she changed her up and down motion against Regina's clit to letters that the brunette tried to follow.

The blonde started with a capital “E”.

Regina's walls tightened around Emma's fingers as she slowly formed the letter between inward thrusts, each thrust hitting the right spot.

Emma pulled her thumb away from Regina's clit to indicate a new letter.

Between gentle but thoroughly effective thrusts, she made a lower case “m”. She pulled her thumb back again and waited until she slid her fingers back inside Regina before she started the next letter.

Regina saw a pattern, though her mind had become a little hazy. Halfway through the third letter, her walls tightened around Emma again. She wrapped her thighs around Emma's hips, their centers flush against each other, her calve pressed against Emma's backside. Each movement Emma made, her leg followed.

Emma finished the third letter: another lower case “m”.

Regina was a few letters behind. She thought them over in her head, though it was increasingly difficult considering all the stimulation Emma provided her.

Regina closed her eyes and moaned as Emma curled her fingers against the spot then started the last letter.

“This is best part,” Emma quietly said in a low tone. “You shouldn't close your eyes.”

Regina clenched her thighs together almost seemingly in an attempt to break Emma's hips. She was close to her release.

Emma had only formed an open circle on Regina's clit. She had one last swipe of her thumb to complete the letter and she wanted to watch Regina come undone.

Regina gulped between her panting fit. She forced her eyes open and adjusted her focus to stare in Emma's green eyes with perfect clarity.

Emma pumped in and out of Regina a few more times, her thumb a lingering presence that hovered over Regina's clit. When Regina's breath hitched, she used it as her cue and gave a heavy push into Regina as she completed the lower case “a” with a single downward stroke.

Finally, all the letters clicked in Regina's head. Her shoes long forgotten the previous night along with Emma's boots, she curled her toes and let go.

“Emma,” Regina loudly moaned as she drew out the blonde's name.

Their eyes never left each other as Regina came undone.

Emma's jaw dropped when she heard her name fall from Regina's kiss swollen lips.

It wasn't lost on Regina. When realization set in, her eyes quickly flashed with panic.

Suddenly, Regina wriggled and squirmed beneath Emma, her sexual high shortly lived.

“Get off me,” Regina said as she struggled.

Emma removed her fingers, still in shock at hearing Regina say her name even though it's what she wanted Regina to say. It was why she made letters against Regina's clit in the first place, sort of like a subliminal message in hopes it would elicit her name from the brunette.

“Get off,” Regina cried out, desperation in her voice.

“Regina,” Emma started as she placed her hands on either side of Regina's body. “It's okay.”

“Leave,” Regina barked, though her voice cracked.

She slithered away from Emma as she pulled herself backward, off Emma's jacket.

Emma frowned and almost wanted to cry for Regina before she reached out and grabbed the back of Regina's knee.

“Regina, it's okay,” Emma calmly but firmly repeated louder than the first time.

Regina shook her head.

Emma crawled back on top of Regina and leaned in. She chastely kissed Regina and let it linger before she pulled back. She stared at Regina and started comfortingly rubbing Regina's outer thigh with the pad of her thumb.

“I didn't say it,” Regina pointed a warning finger at Emma. “We never speak of this again!”

Emma winced as Regina's words stung her. She didn't want to forget it, but they agreed earlier that nothing would change between them. Emma relaxed her face and nodded.

“Okay.”

Regina sighed and laid down. She rested her hands over her stomach and closed her eyes as she tried to rid her mind of everything that had happened.

“But,” Emma started after a moment.

Regina's eyes shot open and she looked up at Emma.

“Can we not pretend for a little while longer? Can we at least wait until we go to work to forget?”

Regina opened her mouth to say something as she sat up on her elbows, but she saw the sadness in Emma's eyes. After what Emma had given her and what she was agreeing to do, to give up, she sighed.

“Fine,” Regina quietly agreed, no hardness to her voice.

“Thank you,” Emma smiled.

Regina furrowed her brow in confusion as Emma leaned in. She almost jerked away from the blonde, but relaxed when she felt Emma's lips brush against hers seconds before they pressed together in a kiss.

After a few long seconds, Emma broke the kiss moved away from Regina completely. She crawled backward toward her jacket, still on the grass.

Regina frowned as she watched Emma back away from her.

Emma grabbed her jacket and inspected it. There was a little of Regina on the back of the jacket, the part she had laid on, but Emma wiped her clean fingers over the material to rid it of the mayor's juices. When she wiped the jacket clean, she sucked her coated fingers on each hand then shook out her jacket as one final test to its state of cleanliness.

Through all of it, Regina started to notice all the marks she'd left on the blonde. The biggest and by far the worst being the “R” carved into her left thigh. Coming in second was the new bruise on her ribs where Regina had punched her the previous night. And a close third being the still healing bruise on Emma's shoulder from when Regina had dug her heel into it in a conference room.

Emma moved with ease as she grabbed the nearest shirt, Regina's blouse, then crawled back to the brunette.

“Are you cold,” Emma asked.

Regina finally stopped staring at Emma's body and remembered she had eyes. When she met Emma's gaze, she closed her mouth and nodded.

“I know it probably needs more cleaning to be acceptable for you to wear, but it's the warmest thing we have out here,” Emma said as she offered Regina her jacket.

“I also happen to hate this jacket,” Regina added.

Emma frowned and lowered the jacket.

“But it'll do,” Regina continued. “Thank you.”

She held out her hand and waited for Emma to offer it again.

Emma flashed a small smile and handed it over.

Regina sat up all the way and slid into the jacket.

“You don't mind if I wear your blouse, do you,” Emma asked though she'd already started to put it on.

Regina settled into the leather jacket and looked over Emma as she stuck her arms into the sleeves of her blouse.

“I don't mind.”

“Thanks,” Emma said as she adjusted the collar.

When Emma felt comfortable in the blouse, she met Regina's eyes.

“Are you gonna lay down,” Emma asked.

“Would you like me to?”

“I thought we'd just lay here together for a little while.”

A small smile tugged on the corners of Regina's mouth, though she fought to hide it. Nobody wanted to just lay with her. Everyone always left her. Daniel had been killed, King Leopold was never interested in anything other than sex when it came to sharing a bed with her, and Graham had only thought spending time with Regina was good and fun until Henry showed up. Then things got complicated and he started feeling like a toy.

Instead of giving Emma an answer to a question she hadn't asked, Regina laid down like Emma wanted, though a large part of her wanted it too.

Emma laid on top of her and rested her head on Regina's chest, the jacket unzipped as it served to cover Regina's breasts and arms. Emma covered the rest of Regina with her body and closed her eyes as she listened to Regina's heartbeat.

Regina looked down at cornsilk curls splayed around her chest and shoulders for a moment before she spoke.

“What time is it?”

Emma hummed and remained still for a moment before she reached into one of her jacket pockets. She fished out her phone, surprisingly unharmed during their previous activity, and made the screen light up.

“A little after seven,” Emma answered and stuck her phone back in the jacket as it stayed on Regina the entire time.

“How little?”

“Six minutes.”

“And you left Henry at the house? You didn't call or check in to let him know we were okay?”

“I was a little busy.”

“He needs to be getting ready for school.”

Emma groaned.

“You're supposed to be laying with me, not lecturing me. Can we just have thirty minutes to enjoy this?”

Regina sighed.

“Only if you text Miss Blanchard and tell her we're fine. Also, she can take him to school so you can go straight to work from here...and we can have about  _ fifty _ minutes to enjoy this.”

Emma smiled.

“Really?”

“I can still change my mind.”

Emma's smile widened as she kept eye contact with Regina for a moment longer. She broke it only to grab her phone again and type out a text to Mary Margaret. She mentioned everything Regina had said except for Emma and Regina spending quiet, uninterrupted time together. When she pressed the send button, Regina spoke again.

“There is something I'll need you to do for me, though.”

Emma dropped her head onto Regina's chest with a groan.

“Don't worry, dear. It won't cut into our time here.”

Emma sighed in defeat and balanced on her forearms as she looked at Regina.

“You'll have to go to the house after you leave here. I'm going to need another outfit,” Regina told her.

“You can't leave and get it yourself?”

“I have an early meeting today. I can pull off wearing my clothes from yesterday for it, but after that I'll need a change of clothes, especially since last night's outfit is wrinkled and my underwear is soaked from earlier this morning.”

Emma proudly grinned.

Regina chuckled as she recognized the look.

“Okay,” Emma said.

Emma started to put her phone back in the jacket pocket, but Regina grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

“Set an alarm for seven fifty,” Regina commanded, though her tone didn't hold its usual amount of authority.

Emma pressed several buttons and, after a minute, turned off the display and slipped it back in the pocket.

“Done,” Emma said then laid her head back down on Regina's chest.

She closed her eyes again and focused on the sounds that surrounded them. A few birds rarely flew above Town Hall, but some still passed by and chirped. The wind calmly blew, the air a little chilly but more refreshing than freezing to Emma in that moment. Then there was Regina's heartbeat and her regulated breathing. Her erratic breathing had started to calm from her earlier freak out and the steady rhythm it soon provided Emma as Regina's chest rose and fell helped her fall asleep.

Emma had rested on Regina for a minute or two before the brunette started to relax. She'd slowed her breathing to help put herself to sleep, but it hadn't done the trick that time. She reached up and lazily played with Emma's curls until suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

She hadn't heard her mother's voice in her head or relived any of her painful memories while Emma took it slow with her. She didn't feel the darkness she knew lived inside her. She just felt like Regina. Emma had saved her from herself yet again.

_ Well, if she is the damn savior then she's doing a hell of a job saving me,  _ Regina thought.

She shook the thought out of her mind. She didn't want to think about queens and saviors and the Enchanted Forest. She wanted to focus on the side of herself the pesky, rebellious blonde brought out of her. She wanted to focus on Regina, the girl that only wanted to love and be loved.

She felt Emma's breathing slow and knew the younger woman had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she released it, she slowly started to smile as she stilled her fingers in Emma's curls.

In that one, pure moment as she drifted off to a peaceful sleep, she was happy.

After a few moments, when Regina's smile faded, the apples in the tree above the women gradually regained their color and returned to their naturally firm state. The bark of the tree went from dry and thirsty to a rich, dark color and extended to the branches. It was replenished and, like Regina, it was satisfied.

 


	19. Chapter 19

Emma's alarm loudly went off and interrupted one of the best sleeps in her life. She scrunched up her face and slowly came to balance herself on her forearms. She remained between Regina's legs as the brunette continued to sleep and reached into the pocket of her leather jacket, still worn by the woman beneath her. She silenced the alarm and noticed Mary Margaret had responded to her text about Henry with notable concern.

“ _Emma! Oh, of course I'll take Henry to school, but...is everything alright? What happened to you? Henry wouldn't go to sleep until you came home, but you never did so I had to make him some hot chocolate and stay with him until he just dozed off.”_

Emma frowned. She felt guilty, but when she looked at Regina as the brunette slept, calm and absolutely beautiful, it was worth it. She'd still wholeheartedly apologize to Henry, but she wouldn't regret her decision to be with Regina.

Emma typed out a response, though she wasn't sure when her roommate would see it since class started in ten minutes.

“ _I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave him with you like that. I did find Regina, though. She and I are okay and that's all that matters.”_

She slipped the phone back into the pocket of her red jacket.

She looked over Regina's features. The red leather that concealed Regina's breasts didn't look bad on her, but it definitely didn't fit her personality. She smiled as she looked down at the woman under her.

Regina's breathing was still steady as she remained dead to the world. It was the first time Emma had ever seen the mayor so calm and relaxed except for the few recent times after Emma had brought her to climax. She didn't want to wake Regina, but she knew she had to do it.

Emma took a daring chance at a creative way to wake up the mayor and pushed aside the right half of her jacket. She exposed one of Regina's breast to herself before she leaned in and kissed it where Regina's heart beat below the surface.

Regina softly moaned after a moment as she shifted beneath Emma, her eyes still closed.

Emma kissed her way down to Regina's nipple then licked it and pulled back. Between the cool Maine temperature and Emma's tongue, the bud quickly hardened.

Regina arched her back even as she remained asleep, though Emma suspected her actions stirred the brunette into partial consciousness.

“Regina,” Emma hummed in an attempt to call out to the older woman as she brought her mouth to the mayor's nipple again.

Emma sent vibrations through Regina's body as she spoke. She started to suck on the alert nipple.

Regina parted her lips and moaned again, louder that time as she started to writhe beneath the blonde.

Emma knew they didn't have a lot of time and decided to go for broke. She hoped her plan wouldn't upset Regina too much if not at all, but she couldn't imagine trying to wake up the woman in any other way, least of all one that was disruptive and probably would've made Regina grumpy.

Emma moved down Regina's body and settled her face between spread legs. She grinned as she stared directly at the apex of the woman's legs then captured her prey between her lips as her tongue lashed over it to weaken her true intended target.

Regina gasped as her eyes shot wide open and instinctively thrust her hips toward Emma. She felt Emma's tongue on her clit without much preamble aside from the breast work the blonde had performed.

“Miss Swan!”

Regina sprung into a near sitting position and propped herself up on her elbows. Though she had tried to sound angry, the tone of her voice suggested more surprise and need than anything else.

Emma chuckled at the use of her formal name from the brunette, but she didn't stop. She sucked for several seconds on Regina's clit before she pursed her lips against the swollen bundle of nerves and pulled away. She grinned like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar attempting to look cute and innocent as not to get in trouble.

Regina couldn't help the corners of her mouth turn up in the smallest of smiles as she tried not to laugh.

“What do you think you're doing,” Regina asked with a hint of authority and a lot of seduction.

“Waking you up,” Emma said as her grin grew to almost twice its size. “Did you want me to yell at you or poke you or shake you awake?”

“No. I want you to finish.”

“You have about six minutes until you're meeting this morning and you're still really naked.”

Regina chuckled.

“I suppose you're right. I guess we'll have to continue this on our lunch break. Or perhaps once you've brought me a change of clothes.”

“Not a problem,” Emma said as she moved back up Regina's body.

On the way, she smoothly slid two fingers inside the mayor and suppressed Regina's moan with a kiss. She kept her fingers still inside Regina, but the brunette already wanted more.

Regina clenched her thighs around Emma as she raised her knees to press against Emma's sides near her breasts. She opened herself up for Emma to help push the sheriff's fingers deeper inside her as she pushed her hips in the blonde's direction for a better touch.

Emma throatily chuckled, satisfied with Regina's desperate response.

“In time,” Emma purred.

“You started it.”

“And I'll finish it...when the time is right.”

“You're such a tease,” Regina whispered as Emma leaned in.

“So are you,” Emma quietly said before she kissed Regina again. “Why would I ever want to leave this?”

When Emma asked, she slowly twisted her fingers inside Regina.

Regina balanced herself on one arm and wrapped the other around Emma's shoulders. She pulled the sheriff closer and pressed her forehead to Emma's and closed her eyes.

“Don't leave,” Regina softly said as she gave in to a moment of weakness.

“I have to, but I'll be back.”

Regina opened her eyes and looked through dark lashes to met Emma's gaze. The two of them stared at each other with an intensity neither one had ever felt. No matter how many times they said those two words “nothing changes,” they both knew things already had.

In keeping with the allusion things hadn't, however, Emma removed her fingers from Regina and stood.

Regina instantly felt the cold air hit her body when Emma went to grab her clothes by the tree. On the way, Emma picked up the nice pile of Regina's clothes and handed them to her.

Regina lightly smiled as she sat up completely and took her clothes. She eased her way out of the leather jacket and started to get dressed in her own attire.

Emma stripped herself of Regina's blouse after a moment, Regina's eyes on her as she did so, and handed it to the brunette still in the grass.

Regina raked her eyes over every inch of exposed flesh Emma presented to her as the daylight illuminated every part of the blonde.

Emma lowered her hand that still held the blouse as she realized Regina wasn't going to take it just yet. She felt herself being studied and she started to feel self-conscious. She casually used the blouse to hide her sex and bit her bottom lip to keep from shifting foot to foot under Regina's scrutiny.

Regina realized Emma's sudden timidness and looked up to lock eyes with the younger woman.

“I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I know.”

“If it helps, I'm admiring you not judging you.”

Emma shrugged as she nervously looked away from Regina.

“It helps a little.”

Regina smiled, but when Emma looked at her again it quickly faded to keep up appearances.

“Well, we should really-”

“Yeah,” Emma cut Regina off.

Emma offered Regina her blouse again and, that time, she took it.

The two of them hurried to get dressed then looked at Town Hall before they locked eyes once more.

“When should I come back with your clothes,” Emma asked.

“Eight forty-five.”

“Okay.”

Before Emma could think better of it, she lightly placed a hand on Regina's lower back and moved in for a chaste kiss.

“I'll see you soon,” Emma said before she turned and headed around the building to get back to her car.

When she got to her yellow bug, Emma got in and immediately smelled the previous day's lunch. She frowned and turned to look in the backseat. On the floor behind the passenger's seat were the to-go boxes from Granny's, both filled with food she never got to enjoy due to the nature of their lunch break.

The thought made her only slightly sad as she shrugged it off with the simple idea that should could share more than her body with Regina that day during their break.

All the while, Regina remained in the same spot. She lightly touched her fingertips to her lips as she felt Emma's kiss linger. It was a simple kiss that, though she didn't have much experience, she had associated with significant others. It was the kind of kiss shared between two people in a rush, but held a sort of intimacy all the same.

And there she stood, fingers pressed to her lips under the apple tree. She took a deep breath and curled her fingers into a fist as she snapped up to inspect her tree. She saw ripe red within healthy green leaves.

She stared up at the tree with an almost horrified look. It made no sense. Her tree was dying just the previous night and, if her nightmare was anything to go by, it had everything to do with Emma Swan. So why did the health of her tree improve if the blonde still threatened to break the curse?

Emma came back to the office with Regina's clothes as promised and smiled when she saw the brunette working at her desk.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Emma happily greeted as she locked the door behind her.

Regina smirked at the general nickname.

“You seem pleased,” Regina said.

“I'm staring at a beautiful woman. Of course I'm pleased.”

Regina tried not to smile. She couldn't let Emma in. Instead, she pursed her lips and abandoned her paperwork before standing.

“Unfortunately for you, I've only got another fifteen minutes at best to spare. Think you can finish what you started outside in that amount of time?”

Emma grinned.

“That depends. Are you already wet or do I have to work for it again?”

“Why don't you come find out for yourself?”

“With pleasure,” Emma said as she headed toward Regina, a lustful gleam in her eyes.

Emma left the clothes draped over the back of a visitor's chair and walked around the mayor's desk. She stood in front of Regina as the brunette turned to face her with a wicked smirk then placed her hands on Regina's hips and pulled her in close. She leaned in to kiss Regina, but the mayor turned her head and grabbed a fistful of blonde tresses before fluidly navigating Emma to her neck.

Emma went with it and gave sensual kisses to Regina's pulse point before nipping at it with her teeth.

Regina hummed her appreciation as she slowly closed her eyes and tilted her head back to give Emma more skin to tease.

Emma licked over the faint bite mark she left on the other woman's neck and slid her hands up Regina's blouse. She pushed against the mayor's stomach as she moved her hands toward Regina's breasts and pulled the blouse out of Regina's pencil skirt. She lowered her hands again and gripped Regina's hips before she spun the mayor around, her back to the desk, and lifted her onto it.

“Miss Swan,” Regina started after Emma's actions caused her to moan. “I refuse to look unprofessional by making a mess on important documents.”

Emma hooked her arms under Regina's legs then pulled her backside off the desk.

Regina pressed her weight down on her hands where the desk was clear of paperwork to balance herself. She watched as Emma slid her hand across the desk and pushed every last paper onto the floor. Her jaw dropped.

“You're reorganizing that,” Regina flatly said.

“It'll be worth it,” Emma smiled as she set Regina back down on the desk.

Emma leaned in for a second attempt at a kiss.

Regina turned her head again and left the blonde to kiss just below her jaw.

Emma furrowed her brow, but tried not to sound frustrated as she stifled a sigh. To rid herself of the questions and concerns that tried to flood her mind, she pulled back and looked down at Regina's blouse. She focused her attention solely on the buttons she undid as she exposed Regina's black bra underneath it.

Regina spread her legs, still in her skirt, and scraped her heel over Emma's left hip before she hooked it inside the blonde's jeans. She tugged it down to reveal fair skin then slid her left foot between Emma's thighs. The top of her foot touched Emma's denim covered sex and rubbed against it as she pulled Emma closer.

Emma closed her eyes and moaned as she stilled her fingers on a button.

Regina devilishly chuckled.

“You know what you do better than satisfying me,” Regina asked in a sultry tone as she continued to bring Emma closer with only her foot.

“Hmm,” Emma hummed as she failed to form words.

“Obey.”

Emma's eyes shot open.

“You wanted me to talk, right?”

Emma nodded.

“Well, I'm going to be honest with you now, Sheriff. The thing that gets me off more than when you please me is when I have you under my thumb.”

Regina brushed her knuckles over Emma's skin as she reached into the front of the blonde's jeans.

Emma opened her eyes and stared straight into brown ones darkened by desire. She parted her lips as her breath quietly hitched, though there were no other sounds in the room so both women heard it.

“You like trying to make me happy, don't you,” Regina asked as she gave a quick yank on Emma's jeans and closed the space between them.

“And it makes you happy for me to submit,” Emma asked.

“Extremely,” Regina purred.

“Can it wait until tomorrow,” Emma asked with a twinge of hope in her voice, though her face expressed doubt. 

“Still sore, dear?”

“It's barely been twenty-four hours since you attacked me in your car.”

Regina haughtily chuckled.

“I wouldn't call it an attack.”

“You made me cum six times in about three minutes. I can hardly take a step in these skin tight jeans without making my vagina throb.”

“So crass.”

“That's the medical term for it. If you want to name it, go right ahead. That doesn't make what I said any less true.”

Regina bit her bottom lip as a grin split across her face at Emma's joking suggestion.

“Would you like me to name it,” Regina asked as she used a single hand to unbutton the blonde's jeans.

Emma laughed.

“Only if you can come up with a really good name. Although, I think it'd be awkward to walk around with it having a name at all.”

“Then it goes unnamed...but that doesn't make it any less mine,” Regina repeated Emma's previous words with a small change as she ran her fingers through the sheriff's folds.

Regina pouted as Emma placed her hands on the desk to either side of Regina.

“You're not wet.”

“You won't kiss me.”

Regina paused as she planned her next move. She took her hand out of Emma's pants and started to finish unbuttoning her own blouse.

“I like it better when we don't,” she lied as she used her distant, mayoral tone to mask any indication toward her true feelings.

Emma frowned.

Regina peeled off her blouse and looked up at the sheriff's slightly upset expression.

“Don't worry, dear. There are better parts of me for you to kiss.”

She sat forward and started to pull the denim down Emma's legs as her mouth got closer to the younger woman's skin.

Emma grabbed a fistful of Regina's hair and pulled the mayor's head back to look at her.

Regina didn't seem too happy about it.

“We don't do anything until you kiss me,” Emma sternly said.

Regina shook her head.

“That's not how this works.”

“What we're doing, _doesn't_ work. What happened outside this morning and last night... _that_ works. Kiss me and I'll do whatever you want.”

“That's not going to happen,” Regina said as she stood.

Emma let go of Regina's hair as the woman slithered up her body in a predatory and nonsexual way.

“Why is it so hard for you to kiss me,” Emma asked. “We've done it plenty of times in the last week!”

“And that's enough. We shouldn't have kissed _at all._ Our arrangement is this: you and I have copious amounts of sex. We aren't together and we will never betogether. The only way we see each other outside of a professional setting is to fuck. That's all you'll ever be good for.”

Regina's words not only stung Emma, but herself as well. She couldn't allow either one of them to think it was anything more than how she'd just described their time together, but surprisingly it hurt to say such things.

Emma swallowed the lump in her throat as she burned holes into Regina's eyes with her death glare. She leaned on her anger to keep her from showing any weakness, something she and Regina had in common.

“Then you can wait until lunch to get off,” Emma spat then turned and left.

Emma stopped by Henry's castle and collected the book of fairy tales he cherished on the way back to the station. When she got back to her office, she spent the next couple of hours at her desk with it opened up to the story of the Evil Queen. She flipped through it, not expecting what she read as she was only familiarized with the Disney version. Although the story seemed completely different than the childhood movie she'd seen about Snow White, she still found the Queen's story lacking.

There was absolutely no explanation as to the Queen's wicked ways, why she wanted Snow out of the way. The book hinted on more than one occasion that the Evil Queen was jealous of the young Snow White, but that seemed all too similar to the Disney concept for Emma to believe. Why she questioned a story she didn't believe in anyway was beyond her, but for the time being, she chalked it up to trying to understand her son.

_As if interrupting Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding wasn't enough for her, the Evil Queen promised, “I shall destroy your happiness if it is the last thing I do,”_ Emma read with a furrowed brow.

Suddenly, her cell vibrated on the desk and caused Emma to redirect her attention to the mobile device. She read the caller ID before answering.

“Ruby? What's up?”

“It's Ashley,” Ruby panicked. “She's in labor. I was just gonna drive her out of town, get her away from Gold like she wanted, but then we reached the city limit and she started having contractions. Emma, I don't know what to do.”

“Whoa, whoa. It's okay. Did you take her to the hospital,” Emma asked as she stood and snatched her keys off the desk.

Emma heard a scream in the background before Ruby answered, one she presumed came from Ashley.

“I'm taking her there right now, but I've never done this before and everything with Gold. I mean, what if he shows up to take the baby? He knows as much as Mayor Mills in this town. Emma, please!”

“Calm down. It's gonna be okay. I promise. Freaking out isn't going to help Ashley, alright,” Emma said as she headed out of the station. “I'm on my way to the hospital now. I'll meet you there in a few minutes, okay?”

Emma heard Ruby try to breathe before the waitress replied.

“Okay.”

“Drive carefully. And Ruby?”

“Yeah?”

“You know what you're doing. You've been through Ashley's entire pregnancy, right? Just relax and keep doing what you've been doing. Let me worry about Gold.”

“Thank you,” Ruby said with obvious relief.

“No problem,” Emma said as she locked up the station then hung up.

She quickly got into her personal car and drove off to the hospital, which didn't take her long to get to as she disobeyed the speed limit.

The entire town witnessed a yellow streak fly by as Emma rushed to the hospital with a determined look on her face. Not that anyone else but the blonde knew, but Emma wasn't going to let the two women she hurried to meet be alone in that particular time of need. It wasn't just because she'd started to call Ruby her friend, something she'd never had before, but it had more to do with her own experience of child birth.

She remembered every last moment of giving birth to Henry. How she did it all by herself with only one or two doctors in the prison infirmary to encourage her to push, though not in a warm way at all as emotion failed to reach their words. How she wished she hadn't had to have Henry in prison. How she knew she wouldn't be able to take care of him. How she gave him up by refusing to see him during the adoption process. How she held him once after she had him, called him “kid” instead of naming him, and then finally handed him over to a nurse before she cried herself to sleep.

She wouldn't let anyone else go through that alone if she could help it. So she drove and drove until she angled herself into a parking space.

She jumped out of her car and jogged up to the hospital entrance. She slowed to a fast walk as she went through the sliding doors and searched the waiting room for a familiar face.

“Emma,” Ruby exclaimed from a short distance.

Emma whipped back around to face her friend as the brunette removed her nails from her mouth, presumably biting them.

Ruby quickly headed over to Emma and immediately wrapped her into a hug.

“I'm so glad you're here,” Ruby confessed as she closed her eyes and squeezed the blonde.

Emma awkwardly reached up and returned the friendly embrace.

“Where's Ashley,” Emma asked.

Ruby pulled away and answered.

“They took her to delivery. Apparently, the contractions were already less than a minute apart by the time we got here.”

Emma nodded.

“Okay. Then we wait.”

Ruby gulped and nervously nodded in understanding.

Emma put a supportive hand on Ruby's back and guided her to one of the chairs in the waiting room. She took a seat next to Ruby and checked the time on the wall clock. She quietly sighed and pulled out her phone.

“ _Can't make it to lunch.”_

Emma pressed send and within a few minutes came a response from none other than Regina Mills.

“ _That's a shame. Although, I'm more than happy to not clean that wretched apartment. And of course, since you're the one canceling, this still counts. My services are only good through Saturday.”_

Emma rolled her eyes and typed out a reply.

“ _Fine.”_

When her phone displayed a message that her text had successfully sent, a familiar and eery voice brought her back to her surroundings.

“Sheriff,” Gold grinned as he addressed the blonde. “Nice to see you again.”

Ruby avoided eye contact with the pawn shop owner and tried not to look too scared as she nervously wrung her hands together in her lap.

Emma stood and stepped closer to the creepy man.

“Gold. If you're here for Ashley, I'm telling you now that you won't be getting what you want.”

“I'm not here for Ms. Boyd. I'm here for her baby, remember?”

“Ms. Lucas,” a doctor called as he read off a contact sheet attached to his clipboard.

Ruby shot out of her chair and made a beeline to the reception area to talk to the doctor.

Emma watched Ruby leave them then turned back to the older man.

“And you won't be getting her baby, remember? You don't have the contract.”

“On the contrary, dearie,” Gold's grin widened and made him look like a slimy crocodile.

Gold reached into the inside pocket of his blazer and pulled out the folded contract. He moved it back and forth in his hand to cockily rub it in her face.

Emma's defiant exterior slipped as her eyes widened in shock.

“Where did you get that?”

“Well, I found it in a rather odd place, Ms. Swan. This morning I had a meeting with Mayor Mills and found it among her paperwork.”

_So he was her eight o'clock,_ Emma thought as things started to click into place.

She looked worried as she asked her next question.

“And she gave it to you?”

“Of course. It is _mine_ after all. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a debt to collect.”

Gold took a step toward the reception area, but Emma countered it by stepping in front of him to prevent further movement.

Gold sighed.

“Unless you have a better offer, dearie, that baby is mine whether you like it or not.”

“What do you want,” Emma asked, the edge back in her voice and demeanor.

“I'm sorry?”

“You said if I had something better to offer. What's your price?”

Gold gave another crocodile grin, one that Emma deemed his infamous grin since he wore it a lot, before he spoke.

“You're willing to make a trade?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“May I ask why?”

“That baby deserves parents that want it. Ashley deserves a chance to raise her kid if she wants...and believe me she does. What would you even do with a baby anyway?”

Gold shrugged.

“You're right, Sheriff. I have no need for a child, but since the child is supposed to be mine, I'll still have to trade for it.”

Emma uncomfortably shifted.

“So what's it gonna be,” she asked after a moment as she tried to keep her composure.

“Let's say you'll owe me a favor,” Gold triumphantly said. “When the time comes, you'll do what I ask. No questions, no way out of it. Do we have a deal?”

“Yeah,” Emma reluctantly agreed.

“Thank you,” Ruby faintly said to the doctor as she stood in front of the main desk.

“I'll be in touch,” Gold said after a moment then limped toward the hospital entrance to leave.

Ruby walked back to Emma, her eyes nervously on Gold's retreating form until he disappeared from sight.

“Is he gone for good,” Ruby asked.

“Yeah,” Emma said before she turned to the waitress. “He won't be bothering Ashley anymore.”

“What did you do?”

“Doesn't matter. He's not coming for the baby. How is she?”

Ruby slowly started to smile.

“The doctor said she's doing well. She's tired, but we can see her. We can only be in there for so long though. She needs her rest.”

“Right,” Emma nodded.

“She has a little girl,” Ruby beamed.

“That's great,” Emma smiled then waited a moment before she changed her mood. “Um, I actually kind of have something to take care of, though. I wish I could stay, but...”

Emma trailed off without having an excuse prepared, causing Ruby to frown.

Before Emma could continued, a young man called out to the brunette.

Ruby and Emma both turned to face the entrance and saw a sandy blonde gentleman approach them with uncertainty written across his face.

“Is she here? Is everything okay,” he asked.

Ruby gave a small smile as the guy stopped in front of her.

“Sean. You came,” Ruby said, slightly surprised.

“Well, she called and sounded worried. She's having my baby, you know. I couldn't just leave her.”

“You the boyfriend,” Emma asked.

“Uh, yeah. Well, I was. Hopefully, Ashley and I can make this work and then maybe someday she'll call me her boyfriend again.”

Sean directed his next words at Ruby.

“Where is she?”

“I'll take you to her,” Ruby said as she continued to smile and waved him over as she started to walk away from Emma.

“Call me later, Ruby,” Emma said as she backed away, toward the hospital entrance.

Ruby looked over her shoulder at Emma.

“Of course,” the brunette said. “Thanks, you know, for handling the situation.”

“You're welcome. See you later,” Emma asked as she continued to inch toward the door.

“Yeah.”

Emma smiled before the two of them turned around, their backs to each other, and went their separate ways.

Emma stormed past the receptionist and into Regina's office as rage consumed her.

“Sheriff Swan,” Regina addressed the blonde with her usual aloof demeanor despite all that had recently transpired between the under the apple tree. “I thought you said you were unavailable this afternoon. I've already taken my break so-”

“Shut up,” Emma angrily interrupted.

“Excuse me,” Regina asked, a little hurt though she masked it with the rising rage Emma's defiance always caused.

“Why the hell would you give Gold that contract?”

Regina realized Emma's anger may have been misplaced on her and shrugged before she answered.

“What use would I have for a piece of paper that didn't involve me?”

“Do you even _read it_?!”

“No. I didn't even know it was his until he pointed it out to me.”

“How could you just hand it over like that?! I tried so hard to keep him away from her!”

“I should remind you, dear, that the only reason it was in my possession was because you gave it to me. Along with the rest of the paperwork you left on my dresser during one of our previous lunch breaks.”

“What? I thought... No. I left it in my car. I made sure!”

“Whatever paperwork you thought you left in that ridiculous contraption you call a car wasn't that contract. It _would_ explain why Mr. French called me about recent property damage that's gone unattended the past week.”

Emma shook her head.

“I was being so careful,” she said more to herself as she started to forget her surroundings.

“Aw, realizing you made another mistake, dear,” Regina pouted with feigned concern.

Emma snapped to attention and glared at Regina as she clenched her fists at her sides.

“You have no idea what that contract almost cost someone,” Emma bitterly, quietly said as she tried to control her anger.

“I've found it best not to involve myself in Mr. Gold's business.”

“And here I thought this was going to be hard.”

“What's that.”

“Pretending this morning never happened. Nothing changes, right?”

Regina felt her stomach twist at Emma's dark, cold tone.

“I guess I didn't stop to think how soulless you really are.”

And just like that, Regina felt a pang in her heart. Her face almost exposed her true emotions, but she quickly covered it with her regal stature.

“But I'll just consider that one of my many mistakes. You seem to be keeping score. How many have I made so far?”

“I think you should leave,” Regina sternly said as she tried not to feel bothered by Emma's words.

Emma swallowed the lump in her throat as she willed herself not to cry and gave a single nod.

“Wouldn't expect you to think anything else,” Emma shot back. “How in the hell did you get like this?”

Regina said nothing, but glared at Emma with a clenched jaw and a particular fire in her eyes.

“Don't bother over dreading tomorrow's lunch break. I'm giving you another day off,” Emma angrily said.

She turned to leave, but spun back around and took only one step toward Regina.

“No, that'd be a victory for you. You're gonna come over tomorrow and you're gonna clean every inch of the apartment within the hour break you're gonna give yourself. But don't worry about dressing up. I won't be looking at you because right now...you _disgust_ me.”

Emma turned back to the door and left without looking back.

Regina finally allowed her eyes to wander south as she looked down at her desk, sad and maybe even a little disappointed in herself. She liked to play with Gold, or as she'd known him to be, Rumpelstiltskin. They had a sort of back and forth power play between them that often times went unspoken. She desperately wanted to beat him at his own game, something he started when he taught her dark magic. 

And yet, she easily handed over the contract she hadn't realized she had. She immediately recognized the stack of papers to be the ones that Emma brought her, but she didn't much care for the mix up. She didn't even think about it before she dismissively waved at him to take it.

But after Emma burst through and made such an ordeal about it, she wondered why Emma had one of Gold's contracts in the first place. Then she wondered why Emma seemed so adamant about what it almost cost someone.

While Mary Margaret got ready for girls night, Emma discretely tipped back a bottle of Jack for a burning shot or two before she slipped the bottle in one of the lower cabinets by the sink whenever she heard her roommate approaching. She'd already had to face Regina when she dropped Henry off before his appointment with Dr. Hopper. She didn't want to deal with Mary Margaret telling her to ease up on the alcohol after the day she'd had. She also didn't want a lecture about how destructive it was to drink away her problems, though if she were being honest, half the time it amplified them.

Mary Margaret smiled as she walked out of the bathroom and looked at Emma who quickly widened her eyes and pulled the bottle off the counter top to hide it from her roommate. She held it by the neck as she kept it between her hips and the bar-style counter in the middle of the kitchen.

“You think this is okay for tonight,” Mary Margaret asked as she spun around in her modest dark blue sweater and black dress pants that clung to her somewhat toned legs.

“Looking good,” Emma smiled back at her.

“Thanks,” Mary Margaret continued to smile until she looked over Emma's wardrobe and frowned. “That's not what you're wearing, is it?”

Emma wore her usual white tank top and dark skinny jeans. Her red leather jacket hung on the coat rack by the front door, though Mary Margaret assumed she'd be wearing it once they left the apartment.

Emma looked herself over and frowned.

“What, I always wear this.”

“Exactly. We're going out,” Mary Margaret started as she approached the counter.

Emma tried to contain her bottle of Jack from her roommate's sight and opened one of the cabinets under the counter she stood in front of. She bent over and down a little as she set the bottle inside and shut the cabinet, her eyes on Mary Margaret the entire time.

“The least you can do is get a little dressed up,” Mary Margaret encouragingly smiled as she came to stand beside the blonde.

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” she huffed out. “But I'm not wearing a dress and I have absolutely nothing nice to wear besides dresses.”

“I'm sure we can figure something out,” Mary Margaret mischievously grinned.

Emma furrowed her brow and worried what the schoolteacher had in mind.

One phone call and fifteen minutes later, Ruby knocked on the door with a handful of clothes in her hand. She was already dressed to the nines in one of her red, skimpy outfits and flashed a wolf grin at Emma as she stepped past Mary Margaret and walked inside.

“I heard you were having a fashion crisis,” Ruby said as she walked straight up to Emma who sat at one of the stools at the kitchen bar.

“Oh no,” Emma muttered as she looked over the clothes Ruby had in her hand.

They tried on every last outfit Ruby brought until Mary Margaret and the waitress voted on their favorite one. It took a little less than an hour for Emma to show off each one to the two women until they decided that nothing could compare to the low cut, silky top in emerald green and a pair of Emma's dark skinny jeans that hugged her toned legs and round backside.

“I have just the heels for it too,” Ruby beamed. “But I left them in the car.”

“That's okay,” Mary Margaret started. “We've got plenty of time. It's only six thirty.”

Emma groaned and trudged over to her bed as they used her room for the modeling event. She plopped down on it in defeat and sighed as Ruby left to retrieve the heels.

“Long day,” Mary Margaret asked.

“I'd say that was an understatement.”

“Want to talk about it,” her roommate gently asked.

“No.”

“Well, what happened with the mayor? I know you probably don't want to talk about that either, but last night was kind of strange.”

“I know. I'm sorry,” Emma said as guilt suddenly took over her. “I didn't expect it to take that long, but when I found Regina...she didn't really seem in the mood to go home so I just stayed with her to make sure everything was okay.”

“Where was she?”

“Overworked at her office,” Emma only half-lied.

She couldn't be sure if Regina was really overworked, but she had been at her office.

“Oh,” Mary Margaret said as she withheld all the other questions bubbling to the forefront of her mind. “Did you get much sleep?”

“No. A few hours here and there maybe.”

“Do you even want to go out tonight?”

“Yes,” Emma exclaimed. “I could use a night out.”

“I mean if you're tired-”

“No. I'm not tired. At least not too tired to hang out with friends. I need a distraction from today. I guess this girls night couldn't have come at a better time,” Emma smiled.

Ruby came back into the room with a pair of black two and a half inch heels dangling from her index and middle finger.

“Oh, by the way,” Emma started as she redirected her attention to Ruby. “I almost forgot to ask. How's Ashley?”

“She's good. I spent another hour with her after you left. She and Sean talked a bit.”

“And how's that going?”

“He says he wants to be there for Alexandra.”

“Alexandra,” Emma repeated with a smile.

“Yeah, that's the baby's name,” Ruby returned the smile then changed the subject. “So, try the heels?”

Emma shook her head with a crooked smirk then held out her hand.

“Give 'em to me,” she demanded.

Ruby bounced the few steps that were between the two of them and handed the heels to Emma.

“What do you think? The Rabbit Hole tonight? Last time Emma and I went there we had a blast,” Ruby addressed both women.

“I don't really do the bar scene,” Mary Margaret sheepishly stated.

“Oh, come on. It'll be fun. Besides, it's not like anyone's there to judge you. They're either drinking themselves under the table or joking with each other. Nothing to worry about.”

“I'd love to go. I could definitely use a drink,” Emma said as she awkwardly slid into the heels.

“Well,” Mary Margaret scrunched up her face with discomfort at the idea of being at a bar.

“You really need to think about it? Mary Margaret,” Ruby started as she stepped away from Emma and toward the schoolteacher. “You're a young, single woman who deserves to spend a night out on the town. You need to let your hair down a little.”

“In case you haven't noticed,” Mary Margaret smartly started. “My hair's so short, I don't have any to let down.”

Emma and Ruby laughed.

The sound of their laughter made Mary Margaret smile in a moment of pause before she spoke again.

“Okay. I'll go.”

“Yay,” Ruby happily exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Mary Margaret in a celebratory hug.

Emma smiled and watched the interaction as she finished putting on the heels.

“Alright,” Emma started after a moment as Ruby pulled away from Mary Margaret. “So...should we try to cash in on happy hour or have a quick bite to eat before we leave?”

The three of them exchanged glances for a few seconds before they grinned and came to an agreement.

“Happy hour,” they said in unison.

For the next half hour, drinks were cheaper than usual and Emma didn't hesitate to almost buy out the bar. Ruby also jumped on the crazy train to intoxication town while Mary Margaret nursed various sodas and the occasional glass of water.

On the way to The Rabbit Hole, they'd decided in the car that Mary Margaret would be the designated driver since she didn't want to drink anyway. That left the other two women, who guzzled down their drinks just to purchase three more afterward, extremely pleased.

The three of them talked about anything from new gossip to Mary Margaret's time with the former coma patient David Nolan. He still couldn't remember where he lived or even what happened before he went into a coma so he stayed at the hospital for observation until things became clearer.

Within an hour, Ruby and Emma both felt a familiar buzz they kindly welcomed. Ruby enjoyed letting loose whenever she could, but Emma needed the freedom the buzz guaranteed her. Mary Margaret, however, only liked watching the alcohol make her friends goofy while she metaphorically sat on the side lines.

A recognizable song played over the speakers and Ruby gasped before she turned to Emma.

“Oh my god. I love this song! Dance with me!”

Before Emma could give the waitress an answer, Ruby grabbed her wrist and pulled her out on the floor.

The two of them giggled together as they let the alcohol take over and moved together for everyone to see. A few others decided to drunkenly follow their lead as other groups and couples started to dance in various places around the bar as well.

Mary Margaret shook her head and laughed as she watched her friends start a bar wide trend. Her laughter slowly died when a man called out to the bartender.

“Two tequila shots for these lovely ladies here,” the man smiled as he pointed at Ruby and Emma.

Ruby grinned at the man as she continued to dance with Emma.

Emma looked to the bartender who waited for one of the women to give him confirmation.

The blonde looked at Ruby and noticed the wicked gleam in her eyes as she stared back. Emma arched an eyebrow then directed her attention back to the bartender. She nodded and he placed two shot glasses on top of the bar before pouring the tequila.

The man who ordered the shots went to the bar to collect them then grinned as he brought them to Emma and Ruby.

Mary Margaret didn't think anything of it as she watched the scene unfold. It seemed harmless enough and if anything got too aggressive or was seemingly unwanted, she would step in and take her friends home.

“Cheers,” Emma said as she raised her shot glass to Ruby.

Ruby smiled as she did the same and the two clinked glasses before they tipped them back.

Emma scrunched up her face as she felt the burn in her throat.

Ruby let out a howl, which Emma reveled in with a smile as she took her time opening her eyes.

“So what you ladies like,” the man asked. “The hard stuff or those fruity girl drinks?”

“I like my liquor like I like my sex. Hard,” Emma suggestively said to the man.

Mary Margaret's eyes widened as she dropped her jaw.

“I bet you do,” Ruby chuckled then began to grind against Emma to the sexual beat of the song.

The man and his friend smirked.

“Alright then,” the man said to Emma before he yelled to the bartender again. “Four rum and Coke's! With more rum than Coke.”

“And a vodka shot, please,” Emma added.

The man stepped behind Emma. He couldn't stop grinning as he placed his hands on her hips and nudged Emma flush against Ruby.

“Mind if we join you ladies,” he leaned in and asked in her ear.

“Not at all,” Emma returned the man's grin.

The man's friend went to grab the drinks, but smiled at Ruby before he momentarily left the group.

Ruby leaned in toward Emma and looked behind her friend at the man that continued to order them drinks. Her eyes quickly flashed back to Emma's before she closed hers and kissed the sheriff.

A camera flash went off and the rest of the bar whistled their approval.

The kiss was chaste and quick, but the pressure of Ruby's lips to hers lingered on Emma's mouth.

The man's friend beamed with delight as he returned with the drinks. He distributed them as ordered then took his place behind Ruby as the song changed.

Mary Margaret didn't know how to feel about what she'd seen, but thanks to her new friend she didn't have time to think on it.

A man slid into the chair across from Mary Margaret at the small, round table she sat at as she watched her friends. He cleared his throat and smiled at her when she turned to him.

“Hi,” he greeted. “I don't know if you remember me, but...I'm Dr. Whale.”

“Oh, right. Sometimes you stop by to check on David,” Mary Margaret politely smiled.

Dr. Whale nodded.

“So tell me Ms...”

“Blanchard,” Mary Margaret provided.

“Ms. Blanchard. What's a beautiful young woman like yourself doing sitting alone in a bar?”

“I'm not alone.”

“No?”

Mary Margaret shook her head then pointed at Ruby and Emma.

“Those are my friends. I'm here with them.”

“Ah. I'm guessing by their behavior that you're the designated driver.”

“Yeah,” Mary Margaret nodded.

“Well, I'd be more than happy to get you a refill of whatever you're having,” he offered as it pointed as Mary Margaret's almost empty drink.

“That's very kind of you, but no thanks.”

“Are you sure? It's no trouble.”

“I'm okay. Thank you.”

“Alright. Well, if you want to hang out or anything, I'll be over there,” Dr. Whale motioned behind him to the far corner of the bar.

Mary Margaret gave a curt nod and a tight-lipped smile.

“Okay,” she said.

Dr. Whale removed himself from the schoolteacher's presence and Mary Margaret turned back to her friends.

Emma took a swig of her rum and Coke then briefly abandoned it for her shot. She threw the vodka back without a single thought and scrunched up her face. She chased it down with another swig of rum and Coke and Mary Margaret slightly winced at the worrisome behavior.

“I'll take that for you,” the man behind Emma reached out for the empty shot glass in her hand.

Emma handed it over and the four of them danced up against each other, her and Ruby sandwiched front to front in the middle.

Ruby had finished about a forth of her rum and Coke while Emma had finished half of her own.

Emma ran her hand through long brunette locks as they danced and smiled.

Ruby smiled back and caressed the side of Emma's face with her hand.

“Pretty girl,” Ruby complimented.

For Emma, Ruby's words were reminiscent of Regina's words to her.

“ _You're so beautiful.”_

Emma's smile faded. She didn't want to think about Regina. Instead, she pushed past the sadness and initiated a second kiss with Ruby.

She brushed their mouths together with parted lips and slid her her tongue across Ruby's bottom lip for entrance.

Ruby softly gasped before she obliged and allowed Emma's tongue to slowly explore her hot mouth.

The man and his friend cheered as they both stepped back from the women to watch them go.

The longer Emma kissed Ruby, the more pain she felt about it being the one thing Regina denied her. As good as Ruby's lips felt pressed to hers as their tongues slowly danced together, nothing would compare to the way she felt when she kissed Regina.

A tear streamed down her face. She kept her eyes closed and continued to kiss Ruby, one hand on her Ruby's neck and the other at her waist.

Just as the man clapped and drunkenly exclaimed, “Alright”, Emma broke her kiss with Ruby and sniffled.

The brunette frowned and opened her eyes.

“Emma? What's wrong,” Ruby asked.

Emma shook her head and hurried over to their table.

“Nothing. I'm just tired,” Emma quickly said as she brushed away the tear.

Mary Margaret frowned with concern, her expression almost identical to Ruby's, as she stood to meet the blonde.

“Emma?”

Emma didn't even look at Mary Margaret as she grabbed her red leather jacket off the back of a chair at their table.

“I'm fine,” she quickly said as she anticipated Mary Margaret's question. “I'm gonna go home.”

“Okay. Ruby and I will-”

“No. You two stay. I'll just walk.”

“It's more than three blocks from here to get back to the apartment,” Mary Margaret stared at her with wide eyes.

“I'll survive,” Emma said before she turned and headed toward the door.

She didn't bother looking back as she left, but Ruby wouldn't let her leave that easily.

“Emma. Emma!”

Ruby jogged out of the bar to stop the blonde.

“Wait,” Ruby said as she grabbed Emma by the wrist and spun her around to make eye contact. “What's going on?”

“It's nothing. Really.”

“Was it the kiss?”

“No. Not really. I mean, it was a good kiss, but I'm the problem not you. Look, I really hope that the kiss didn't just screw things up between us.”

Ruby shook her head.

“Of course not. I'm an equal opportunist and I'm not seeing anyone. Plus, we're both tipsy so it couldn't have meant much anyway, right,” she tried to laugh it off.

Emma forced a smile.

“Come on, Em. Let me in. Tell me what's up.”

Emma mirthlessly chuckled.

“Let me in,” she repeated Ruby's words. “I wish someone else would letmein.”

Ruby quizzically stared at Emma.

“I'm not following,” she confessed.

Emma looked up at Ruby then realized she'd said that out loud.

“Never mind. I really think I should be alone right now.”

“What about getting home?”

“I'll be fine. I'll see you at Granny's for breakfast tomorrow. Same as always.”

Ruby sighed and nearly pouted as Emma turned and walked away. She headed back into the bar and immediately frowned at Mary Margaret before the schoolteacher spoke.

“She's not coming back?”

Ruby shook her head.

After five minutes of talking things over in the bar, Mary Margaret drove Ruby back to Granny's. Both women kept an eye out for Emma, but didn't see her anywhere. The two of them parted ways with much concern for their friend and a promise to call or text the other if they found her.

Mary Margaret searched around town for another twenty minutes before she finally went back to the apartment and almost called it a night when she decided to check Emma's room. Thankfully, the blonde was curled up in her bed wearing a loose, white T-shirt and a pair of dark green panties.

She flashed a conflicted smile between relief and continued concern as she stared down at her roommate.

Emma slept on her left side, hiding the “R” on her thigh from Mary Margaret's view. She looked exhausted and hadn't bothered to clean off her makeup before going to bed. She also hadn't managed to get under the covers either.

Mary Margaret walked over to one side of the bed, Emma's back to her, and grabbed the sheets. She pulled them over Emma and lightly patted her roommate's bicep before she went downstairs.

She pulled out her phone as she rolled into bed and sent a text to Ruby.

“ _Emma's here. Already asleep.”_

After a minute came Ruby's response.

“ _Thank god! I hope she's okay.”_

Mary Margaret sighed before she sent another message and went to sleep.

“ _Me too.”_

The next morning, Emma woke up with a small headache as the sunlight filled her bedroom. She squinted her eyes as she sat up then went straight to the bathroom. She groaned when she saw her appearance in the mirror.

She had raccoon eyes from smeared makeup and severe bedhead from tossing and turning in her sleep. For not spending the night with Regina, she still managed to look like a train wreck without all the rough sex. Although that probably could be explained by the fact that she ran the entire way from the bar back to her bed.

She sluggishly made her way into the shower and cleaned herself up. It wasn't until ten AM that she successfully made her way out of the apartment and drove straight to Granny's for a much needed breakfast.

The second she opened the door, the clang of the bell on it announced her presence. Several people inside the diner gasped and stared when they saw who had walked in.

Emma looked around, puzzled, before Ruby walked out of the kitchen with a customer's meal.

The moment the waitress made herself visible, whispers erupted around the diner and caused Ruby to notice Emma at the door.

Ruby parted her lips in awkward uncertainty before she looked away from Emma and headed behind the counter.

The whispers only grew louder and Emma cautiously walked further inside. She took her usual seat at the counter and waited for Ruby to come to her.

Instead, Ruby disappeared into the kitchen and made an order without having took one from any customers. She didn't emerge until she had a sleeved to-go cup and came out to make hot cocoa. She added whipped cream and cinnamon then brought it over to Emma.

“You might want to take your food to-go,” Ruby softly, calmly suggested.

“Why? What's going on? People are staring.”

“Yeah. That might have something to do with today's paper.”

“Order up,” Granny called from the kitchen and dragged Ruby away from the blonde.

Emma furrowed her brow with a question she was unable to ask the young brunette.

After several moments of hushed arguing between Ruby and Granny, the waitress brought out Emma's food.

“Your usual,” Ruby said as she handed Emma her breakfast in a Styrofoam container inside a white plastic bag.

“Wait, what about today's paper?”

Ruby looked around at the gawking customer's as everyone silenced their whispers to hear what the two women had to say.

“See for yourself. They're right out front,” Ruby said as she pulled out two quarters from her apron and discretely handed them to Emma.

Emma decided not to ask any more questions and took her food with her as she left the diner. She went straight to the paper dispenser without looking at the display and retrieved the Storybrooke Daily Mirror with the change Ruby gave her.

“Fuck,” Emma said as she quickly noticed the picture that had managed to land on the front page.

 


	20. Chapter 20

Regina stared down at the Storybrooke Daily Mirror as she ignored the paperwork that needed her attention. She couldn't take her eyes off Emma as the blonde took up at least twenty percent of the front page in a lip lock with the racy waitress Ruby Lucas. Even after Emma's outburst in her office the day before, she felt a connection with the blonde during their time spent under the apple tree.

Seeing Emma kiss the young brunette made her feel foolish and hurt, but as usual she hid behind her anger. She gritted her teeth and firmly clutched the paper in her hands, unable to tear her eyes off the blonde in the black and white image in front of her. Emma's hands were lightly pressed to the tarty woman's waist. The kiss, as well as Emma's hand placement, was sweet and innocent. It was timid like a goodnight kiss on the first date the men behind each woman didn't have the same sentiment.

Regina didn't know which art of the photo upset her more. Emma's lips attached to the slutty waitress' or the strange man's hands on Emma's hips as he smiled at his friend about the kiss. She was the only one allowed to touch Emma. The blonde was hers as she had made clear with a knife to the younger woman's fair skinned thigh. Or at least she thought she'd made t clear.

A knock came at her office door before Sidney Glass walked in with a polite and slightly proud smile on his face.

“You wanted to see me, Mayor Mills?”

He waited in the doorway for her response.

“Yes, Sidney. Come in,” Regina dropped the paper and kept herself cold and mayoral. “I had a few questions about today's paper.”

Sidney chuckled.

“Scandalous, isn't it? That Emma Swan certainly knows how to make a big splash in a small town. The story wrote itself.”

“I didn't tell you to watch her,” Regina callously stated.

“I thought you'd be pleased,” Sidney frowned.

“Well, I'm not. Tell me, where was this picture taken?”

“T-the Rabbit Hole. Is there a problem?”

“Just my curiosity,” she spoke in a quieter tone, almost under breath. “Is his all that happened?”

“Hardly. Leroy burst into song on top of the bar while drinking until he passed out. Then-”

“Did anything else happen with _Miss Swan_ ,” Regina cut him of and asked in an agitated tone.

“Oh. Uh, yes and no. She and the woman kissed a little longer after I took that picture,” he pointed to the paper on Regina's desk as he took a seat across her. “I should've taken more than one photo of her and the waitress. For a moment, I thought the two of them were going to leave together.”

“They didn't?”

“Well, the sheriff left by herself, but...”

Regina waited for Sidney to finish, but he didn't go on.

“But what?”

“Well, the waitress followed after the sheriff. I watched her run after Emma, but then Leroy started singing so my attention strayed for a few minutes. When I turned to see if the teacher had left-”

“Ms. Blanchard was there?”

“Yes, she'd come with the other two. But when I turned around, she had left too. I guess she figured Emma and the waitress wanted to have some alone time and went home,” Sidney grinned.

Regina clenched her jaw as she tried not to punch him in the face for enjoying the events of the previous night as much as he did.

“Although it's a shame she didn't stick around. Leroy started to belt out _I Will Survive_ and-”

“Thank you, Sidney. That's all I require from you,” Regina waved at him to leave.

“But you haven't heard the best part,” Sidney excitedly smiled before he tried to continue.

“You're free to go,” she dismissed him again.

Regina shifted in her chair before looking at the paper again.

Sidney saw himself out as Regina stared at the picture with a frown, her focus trained solely on Emma.

When she heard the door close, she took a moment to grind her teeth before she dropped the paper onto her desk and pulled out her cell.

She furiously typed, _“We need to talk.”_

* * *

“Come here, little guy. Come on,” Emma coaxed as she reached up into a tree.

“Oh, be careful. Please, Sheriff,” a worried older woman winced.

Emma had no such luck reaching into the tree so she grabbed onto the branches and pressed her booted foot into the aging bark. She hoisted herself into the tree and sat in the first level of space between adjoining branches.

She brought her knees to her chest as she kept her hands on the branches then placed her feet in the crook of the tree she sat on. She angled herself then pushed off the branches and stood.

“Don't scare him,” the older woman warned in a begging tone though she almost yelled.

Emma rolled her eyes, her face turned away from the woman and hidden behind leaves. She reached out once more and spoke softly once again. She nearly cooed the subject of her attention in an attempt to reunite him with the woman below.

He slowly moved closer to Emma and caused the blonde to warmly smile as she rested her backside against the branch behind her.

“That's it. Come on. Almost there,” Emma assured him.

He paused as he held tightly to the bark on one of the thicker branches above Emma. He eyed her with uncertainty and took a step back.

Emma frowned and shifted against the branch. She moved off it and repositioned herself so her right foot rested on the branch instead.

“No. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you.”

She pushed forward, one hand outstretched, as she started to scale the next part of the tree to approach him.

He paused again, Emma's hand close enough to him that she could scoop him up if she moved a step higher. He looked from her hand to her patient and welcoming green eyes.

Emma froze as she waited for him to make the next move. She hoped if she gave him the choice to move forward or not that he would fall right into her arms and they would be done with it.

Instead, a dark purr erupted from him in crescendo before he gave a shrill meow and lunged at her.

In the seconds before he brought out his claws and latched on to her pale skin, Emma's eyes widened in fear and realization. He scratched at her as he scurried across her chest, arms, and briefly her face.

She yelped and tried to catch him as he run all over her, but only managed to catch herself before she slipped and fell out of the tree in her unbalanced state.

“You're hurting him,” the older woman shrieked.

“Shit,” Emma muttered as his nails dug into her neck then her forearm.

With his sharp nails settled into her forearm, she cradled him and jumped out of the tree. She landed on her feet and was met by the older woman who's cheery expression was reserved for Emma's attacker.

“Your cat is just fine,” Emma panted as the older woman smiled at the tiny beast in Emma's arm, still firmly attached to it.

“There you are, Napoleon,” she spoke in a tone only described as baby talk.

The older woman lifted Napoleon out of Emma's arm as he refused to retract his claws.

Emma cringed as she watched her skin get pulled upward with the older woman's motion to remove Napoleon from her possession.

It wasn't until the older woman scooped him up into her arms that he finally let go of Emma. Her skin snapped back into place with several little red puncture marks, all of them equally angry and threatening to spill blood.

“Thank you, Sheriff,” the older woman carelessly said to Emma as she turned away from the blonde and headed back inside with Napoleon.

Emma gritted her teeth as she felt unappreciated.

She collected her jacket from under the tree and slid into it just as she felt her phone vibrate in one of the pockets.

She furrowed her brow as she pulled out her phone and read the display.

One new text from Regina.

_“We need to talk.”_

Emma scoffed and typed back a reply.

_“Not in the mood.”_

Within a minute came the next message.

_“I'm heading to your apartment now! Be there.”_

Emma let out an angry, frustrated groan as she kicked the air and headed for the cruiser. She didn't bother sending a response even as she gripped her phone with the message still on display.

When she got into the cruiser, she dropped it into one of the two cup holders in line with the center console. She peeled out of the neighborhood street and aggressively drove to the apartment.

She thankfully had arrived before Regina as she noticed the only Mercedes in town wasn't in the parking lot before she headed up to her place.

She slammed the door with unnecessary force and a few flecks of chipped white paint trembled to the floor.

She'd just been attacked by a cat after a night of drinking with Ruby that lead to a kiss she regretted for the fear she'd ruined their friendship no matter what the waitress had said the night before and Regina had forced a conversation on her. The last person she wanted to talk to after recent events was Regina. Of all the things that had transpired over the last twenty-four hours, Regina's actions, intentional or otherwise, had severely wounded her.

Emma didn't know what angered her more, feeling wounded or why Regina's usual indifference affected her in such a way. Whatever the answer, Emma didn't want to think about it. Luckily for her, Regina Mills didn't waste time when she said she'd do something.

A hard knock sounded from the other side of the closed door and Emma was yanked out of her thoughts by a new one: the mayor would be in the hallway demanding Emma let her in.

She went back to the door, only a few steps away from it in the first place, and threw it open.

“What,” she barked at Regina as dark, fiery eyes locked onto impatient brown ones.

“Have fun last night,” Regina smiled, though it was anything but warm and sincere.

She pushed past Emma into the apartment and rapidly removed her coat.

“What do you care,” Emma snapped as she shut the door behind the brunette and balled up a fist due to Regina's rude intrusion.

“Did you fuck her,” Regina asked as she set her coat on the rack by the door.

“What?!”

“Did you fuck Ms. Lucas,” she asked again, slower, as she closed some of the space between her and Emma.

Emma scoffed.

“I don't owe you an explanation,” she said as she folded her arms over her chest.

“You don't think so?”

“No,” Emma said as she stood her ground.

Regina pushed Emma against the door and forced the blonde to uncross her arms.

“I disagree. It's a simple question, really. Yes or no, Miss Swan. Did you sleep with her?”

Emma sized up Regina as they heatedly stared into each others' eyes.

“What if I did?”

Regina's chest fell as she almost loosened her grip on Emma. She looked down for a moment then collected herself before she pressed Emma harder against the door.

“You're lying.”

“I never said whether or not I slept with her.”

“Then answer me. Did you?”

“It's none of your business who I sleep with.”

“On the contrary, dear,” Regina growled as her eyes scanned over the scratch marks on Emma's face.

She reached down and gripped Emma's left thigh.

“It is my business,” she sneered as her nails slowly and harshly raked over the “R” through tight jeans.

Emma's hand flew to Regina's shoulder and clawed at it to brace herself as she yelped. She squeezed her eyes shut then grabbed Regina's hip with her other hand. She pushed the brunette away from her and Regina stumbled back.

Emma lightly pressed her hands to her jeans around the injury and held back tears. She felt a new warmth in her left thigh and only her left thigh before the tight jeans absorbed blood.

“Did you sleep with her,” Regina asked again, her voice loud though it started to waver.

Emma looked up at Regina.

“If you didn't deserve an answer before, you definitely don't deserve one now, you bitch,” Emma spat before she looked down at her thigh again.

Regina swallowed the lump in her throat as she held back tears of what she would deem frustration, though deep down she knew better.

“Tell me,” Regina demanded with a cracked voice as she took a step closer to Emma.

Emma looked up at Regina, bent at the waist from inspecting the damage through her jeans, and glared before she straightened out. She walked with a small limp as each step with her left foot brought on more blood from the open wound. She kept her distance from Regina and grabbed a clean dish towel from a drawer in the kitchen then wet it in the sink.

Regina breathed raggedly as she waited for Emma to say something else, but the younger woman gave her nothing but silence.

Emma took a deep breath through her nose as she gripped the sink then unbuttoned her jeans and slowly pulled them down to her knees.

She winced as she focused on the amount of blood and failed to notice Regina walk into the kitchen. She moved the damp cloth to her thigh, but before it could touch her burning thigh she was shoved against the counter behind her, next to the sink.

Her lower back connected with the edge of the counter as she fell back at an angle, her legs restrained by the partially off jeans wrapped at her knees.

“I don't care about what I _deserve_ , Miss Swan. Did you. Sleep with her?”

Regina clenched a fist around the hem of Emma's cotton t-shirt and pulled it down.

“What the hell is your problem,” Emma asked as her voice grew louder with each word until she yelled in Regina's face.

“You!”

Regina yanked the dish towel out of Emma's hand and tossed it onto the bar-style counter behind her.

“You fucked her, didn't you. You put your hands all over her and she scratched back, encouraging you. Tell me. Does she touch you like I do? Does she _fuck_ you like I do?”

Regina slipped a hand inside Emma's panties and thrust two fingers inside the younger woman. She kept them still inside her as she continued.

“Did she whisper sweet nothings in your ear, tell you how you deserve better than me, that you're worth something? Did she tell you everything I won't? Is that why you did it? Did you give yourself to her or did you just her like you took me?”

“I didn't fuck her,” Emma yelled as she pushed Regina away.

Regina's fingers abruptly left her and not pleasantly as she hurried the brunette a good distance from her.

“Are you happy now? I didn't fuck her, sleep with her, or whatever else you want to call it. I kissed her. That's it! She never touched me, but I'm sure if she had she wouldn't _hurt_ me like you do.”

Emma lowered her voice to an exasperated whisper as she said, “God.”

She stepped next to Regina but didn't look at the other woman as she reached over and took back the dish towel.

Regina watched Emma as she looked almost ashamed of herself and her actions.

“And I didn't _take_ you,” Emma added as she finally looked at Regina again.

She stepped away from the brunette as she rested against the counter Regina had forced her against though that time it was of her own volition.

“I gave you what you wanted. I _gave_.”

Regina's eyes found the floor.

“By the way,” Emma started again. “These scratches, you know, the ones not caused by _you_ are from a cat I rescued from a tree before demanded me to come talk to you. Not that it's your place to know every little thing I do. Though you seem to think otherwise considering Sidney was taking pictures of me last night.”

“I didn't tell him to do that. I didn't even know until I saw the paper this morning,” Regina said as she regained her composure and met Emma's gaze.

“How do I know you're not lying?”

“If I'm not mistaken, you have a 'superpower',” Regina answered as she used air quotes before she continued. “Unless you were lying about that.”

Emma scowled, but studied Regina anyway to see if she had told the truth.

“You don't have to believe me,” Regina said after a moment. “I couldn't care less what you think of me, though I'm sure I have an idea of what you must think. You just need to remember this. I don't share. As long as you and I are physical, you're bound to me. No one else gets to paw at you and you don't get to please anyone but me. Do I make myself clear?”

“Always,” Emma bitterly smiled, her lips tight and showing no warmth. “Possessive bitch.”

The last part had been muttered under her breath. Regina had heard it nonetheless.

“Since I'm here,” Regina pushed past Emma's insult. “Would you like me to clean this pig sty?”

“Whatever.”

Emma grabbed a pint of ice cream from the freezer and a spoon from one of the drawers behind Regina then pressed play on her iPod as it sat in the dock on the far counter near the coat rack. Angst music that fueled her troubled youth and carried into her problematic adulthood played through the speakers and filled the first floor of the apartment.

Regina rolled her eyes with distaste for the music as she exited the kitchen.

Emma plopped down on the couch, her let thigh propped up on the cushion while her right leg remained planted on the floor. She set her ice cream on the coffee table and placed the spoon on top of the closed lid before she tended to the bleeding “R”.

Regina frowned as she headed for the metal stairs, her eyes on Emma to witness the blonde's every move from sitting down to dabbing the wet cloth on her thigh. She turned her back on Emma and went upstairs to start her cleaning job in Emma's bedroom.

She left the younger woman alone for about half an hour as she tidied up the room. Clothes were haphazardly spread across the barely visible floor. Regina had to smell every last article of clothing to determine whether they belonged in the half full hamper or folded neatly in an almost unused dresser. All of them went in the hamper with the rest of the dirty laundry.

Once she could see the floor, she moved on to the bathroom. She looked at the sink with a frown and slightly scrunched up face as long blonde hairs inhabited the small white space. She sighed and unrolled a decent amount of toilet paper. She swept it along the edge of the sink then inside it as she collected all the stray strands.

She disposed of the toilet paper in the small trash can between the sink and toilet, but the full trash only furthered her displeasure. She grabbed the plastic bag and tied a knot in the top of it to trap the garbage. She strode out of the bathroom and headed back downstairs with the overstuffed bag recycled from a visit to the local grocery store. She went to the kitchen to dump it into the larger trash can there when she noticed Emma had started to devour the ice cream.

A different song than the one Regina heard when she had gone upstairs played as loudly as the first and Regina didn't hear much of a change in mood or even a song. The playlist Emma had put on seemed to be nothing but songs about self-deprecation, scorned hearts, or rage toward a supposed friend or former lover.

As Regina added the small plastic bag from the upstairs bathroom to the strong black bag in the kitchen trash can, she heard Emma swear around the spoon she could audibly tell the blonde had in her mouth. She turned to look at the woman on the couch, the dish towel still in her hand.

Emma hissed as she kept the spoon in her mouth using only her teeth.

Regina searched the table but didn't see the pint of ice cream anywhere. She abandoned the trash and walked over to the couch. She stopped behind it and watched Emma delicately slide the towel along one of the long slits of the “R”.

Emma lightly pressed her right hand to her inner thigh as she tried to control her left hand to clean the wound.

Regina would have thought it would have been taken care of by then. All Emma had to do was get the bleeding to stop and she already had a wet towel to accomplish that goal. Then she remembered the night she'd caught Emma and Henry playing Twister in her living room. She'd had a hard time getting it to stop bleeding then too.

Without a moment's hesitation or even a second thought, Regina took the spoon out of Emma's mouth, which startled the blonde. She offered a soft small in return when Emma stared up at her with wide green eyes. She walked around the side of the couch to where Emma could watch her the entire time, the spoon in her hand. When she stood in front of Emma between the couch and the coffee table, she found out where the ice cream had disappeared. The pint was placed between Emma's thighs and pressed against thin red panties, her jeans crumbled on the floor beside the couch.

Regina gave a quick chuckle under her breath then set the spoon on the wooden coffee table. She sat on the edge of the couch between Emma's spread legs, careful not to touch her left thigh.

Emma silently watched her the whole time.

For a better, more comfortable position for both of them, Regina lifted Emma's right leg and draped it over her own closed legs as she turned her body until her right thigh touched the couch. She faced Emma as much as she possibly could given the limitations of the furniture. She let go of Emma's leg to put all her attention on Emma's marked thigh.

“I'll give you a guess as to what I'm reminded of right now,” Emma finally said as her eyes fell from Regina to the “R”.

Regina took the dish towel from Emma's hand and pressed it to the blonde's thigh.

“I'm sorry,” Regina softly said as she avoided eye contact.

“How can you be? Isn't this what you wanted? Every time I look at my thigh, you want me to know I belong to you. Congratulations, it worked, especially since you won't just let it heal.”

Regina sighed and unraveled the bunched up towel. She laid it over the wound and completely covered it. She pressed her hand over it and Emma hissed.

Emma squirmed as she laid back and gripped the back of the couch with her left hand as her right hand clutched the edge of the cushion she sat on.

Regina placed her left hand on Emma's right thigh and ran it up and down fair skin.

“Just relax.”

“I can't do that with you here,” Emma said through gritted teeth as Regina's fingers ghosted over the wound while the heel of her palm pushed down on it.

Regina's fingers applied more pressure while the heel of her palm let up.

“Ah,” Emma tensed.

Regina peeled back the towel and checked her progress. The blood had clotted in a few places but still trickled out in others. She reapplied the towel and pressed down with a feather light touch. She ran her left hand up Emma's unharmed thigh until her thumb slithered under the side of Emma's panties.

Emma's breath hitched.

The pad of Regina's thumb massaged a portion of skin beneath the panties as she slowly circled over it.

Emma whimpered, eyes still closed but relaxed instead of squeezed like they had been when she'd felt pain. She eased her head onto the pillow that rested against the arm of the couch behind her. At the same time, she gradually released her hold on the couch as her hands relaxed though they remained where they were.

“You were saying,” Regina proudly grinned.

Emma opened her eyes and instantly found Regina's. She took a deep breath and gave an intense look the two had only shared under that unforgettable apple tree.

Regina almost melted at the sight, but she closed her eyes and shook her head as if it would make the feeling communicated in green eyes disappear. When she opened her eyes and stood, dropping Emma's right leg back onto the floor, it hadn't vanished.

“I'm...going to get more gauze,” Regina said as she motioned to the stairs. “Where do you keep it?”

“Uh,” Emma's expression changed to one of confusion and worry that she'd said or done something wrong. “Bathroom.”

Emma pointed behind the brunette at the room in question.

Regina turned and noticed the slightly ajar door. She faked a smile when she turned back to Emma.

“Right,” Regina nodded then turned and went into the room.

Emma sat up a little, her back against the pillow in place of her head, as Regina collected the gauze. She frowned when the other woman walked over the couch.

Regina’s gaze was fixed on the gauze as she unraveled it and took her previous seat on the couch between Emma’s legs. Once she had the gauze ready, she shifted her focus to Emma’s thigh. She removed the dish towel and grabbed the underside of Emma’s left knee. She turned herself more toward Emma’s thigh and tucked her right knee under the blonde’s momentarily lifted leg. She kept her other leg off the couch and wrapped up Emma’s wound.

 “Honestly, Miss Swan,” Regina started. “Why you though to go without dressing your injury is beyond me.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, what was I thinking,” she sarcastically replied. “I should have expected you’d come barging into my apartment and attack my leg like it wasn’t enough to cut my skin open with a dinner knife the first time.”

Regina winced, but quickly hid it behind an indifferent expression.

Emma noticed anyway, but chose not to pry.

“Still want me to come by for lunch,” Regina asked as she intently focused on Emma’s thigh.

“That depends,” Emma said as she released a heavy sigh. “Are you planning on attacking me again?”

Regina wrapped the gauze around Emma’s leg a few more times before she taped it up.

“No,” she answered after a moment, her eyes still fixed on the area.

“Then you’re not getting out of cleaning duty. In fact, you can dress up. And when I say can, I mean you will. It’s an order.”

“I don’t take orders.”

“You better start or you’ll regret it.”

“How’s that,” Regina chuckled. “You’re one claw mark away from being crippled.”

“I have my ways. And the pain in my leg is _not_ my fault. I may have given you permission to hurt me the first time when I handed you the knife, but this time? The blame is on you.”

“I’m one for a guilty conscience.”

Emma lifted her sock covered right foot and pressed it against Regina’s stomach. She pushed the brunette onto her back and, in one swift movement, Emma straddled her.

“Then get one,” Emma purred. “Because you have no idea what I’m capable of.”

Regina smirked.

“Of course, dear,” she mirrored Emma’s low tone, though the brunette’s purr almost sent shivers down the other woman’s spine.

Emma’s words didn’t have quite the same effect.

Regina’s eyes fell from Emma’s down to the younger woman’s red panties. She reached out and dipped her thumb under the lacy fabric from the side. She rubbed a circle against sensitive skin like she had earlier to prove a point.

Emma catapulted forward as she rolled her hips and shifted away from Regina’s touch. She pulled at the not-so-low-cut neckline of Regina’s black dress and her mouth connected with the mayor’s clavicle. Emma fiercely bit into the other woman’s skin.

Regina squeezed her eyes shut and cried out as the sheriff’s teeth pierced tan skin. She sunk into the couch in a failed attempt to escape Emma’s bite. She tangled a hand in blonde curls and pulled Emma away, but the woman on top of her only bit harder.

Emma tugged at Regina’s skin as she was forced upward.

Regina eased up on her pull, but didn’t stop completely. She squirmed and groaned as she opened her eyes and looked around the room with watery eyes.

Emma gripped at Regina’s hand in her hair and raked her nails across the back of it. She scratched her way back toward Regina’s knuckles and laced their fingers as she softened her bite.

Regina reached between them and shoved Emma off of her with a hand to the chest. Having created space between them, Regina tried to sit up, but the second she moved Emma was on top of her again.

The blonde grabbed Regina’s other hand and pinned it above the mayor’s head between the arm of the couch and brunette hair. She leaned over Regina and lowered her mouth to the newly made bite mark.

Regina fought against both of Emma’s hands, but was unable to free herself. She tensed seconds before the other woman’s tongue slithered across bruised and broken flesh. Regina sighed in relief and relaxed under Emma.

Emma held in a grin as her tongue danced around, over, and between the punctures made by her teeth. When she felt she had adequately soothed the area, and effectively the woman she’d marked, she chastely kissed the throbbing bite before she sat up on her arms. In one fluid movement, she casually fell back into her original position against the other arm of the couch.

Regina continued to lay on the couch, her breathing shallow as she regained composure and allowed herself some time to process what had happened.

“Thanks for wrapping up my leg,” Emma said after several moments of silence.

Regina slowly started to sit up before she responded.

“Thank you for not sleeping with Ms. Lucas.”

Emma stared at Regina as the brunette slid back against the opposite armrest. It wasn’t until Regina hissed loudly at the pain the motion caused her collarbone that they locked eyes.

“Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it,” Emma turned the question into a statement. “Wear a French maid’s uniform at lunch today. Since you already cleaned, you’ll be putting on more of a show than actually dusting or scrubbing.”

“French maid? Really, dear? Couldn’t come up with anything original?”

“I think you can attest to my originality,” Emma proudly argued. “Sometimes the cliché fantasy, as boring as it may seem, does the trick. In your case, consider it your penance for delaying the healing process of my leg.”

Regina looked from green eyes to white gauze and couldn’t get Emma’s words from earlier out of her head.

 _“I_ gave _.”_

No one gave Regina anything, at least nothing she wanted. Everyone in her life, even as a child, had always taken from her. Emma had shown her that she wasn’t being selfish when they had sex that day. She showed Regina that she was willing to give the older woman what she asked for, or at least capable of giving her what she wanted, and that was a quality possessed by only one person Regina knew.

“Fine,” Regina answered as she avoided the painful memories of the blue eyed stable boy. “I’ll wear the ridiculous outfit. I assume you’ll want it distastefully revealing like Ms. Lucas’ attire?”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“That’s not the way I’d put it,” the blonde insisted.

“Oh? And how _would_ you put it?”

“It should be cut in a way that gives me a teasing view,” Emma walked her fingers up one of Regina’s thighs as she started. “It should take less than an inch of bending over to see whether or not you’re wearing panties.”

She dipped her head between the brunette’s legs and hiked up Regina’s dress with her nose.

Regina gasped as she felt Emma’s breath on her center through lacy black underwear. Though she was surprised enough to want to jump off the couch, she instinctually parted her legs for the sheriff.

Emma grinned as she pushed forward and placed a simple kiss on Regina’s concealed sex. She pulled away, a grin still on her face when she made eye contact with the brunette.

“See you at lunch,” Emma smugly said as she stood.

Regina’s eyes raked over the woman who stood in only a shirt and panties.

Emma offered her a hand and the mayor accepted it. She helped the other woman to her feet then took the roll of gauze from the couch and placed it back in the bathroom. When she returned to the living room, Regina stood by the door and slipped into her coat.

Regina looked over her shoulder and noticed Emma who stopped at the couch, the two of them almost an entire room apart. She forced an awkward, politician smile then let it falter as she looked down at Emma’s gauze covered thigh.

“I hope it heals,” Regina confessed before she turned to the door and let herself out.

* * *

After two hours of not solving crime, Emma left for her lunch break ten minutes early to grab a to-go order from the diner like usual. The only difference between that time and all the other lunch breaks she’d taken that week, other than her and Ruby being front page news, was that Emma had spent her time at the station reading Henry’s book.

She’d finished the story about the Evil Queen and had effectively read about Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, and The Tale of the Two James’. When she’d read Prince Charming’s backstory, she was surprised about the twist, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t believe any of it anyway.

The bell above the door inside the diner jangled when she entered. There were a few more patrons than there were earlier, but not as many people gawked at her as she made her way to the counter.

Ruby flashed a quick, wolfish smile at Emma as sidled up behind the counter to take the blonde’s order.

“Hey, sexy lady,” Ruby teased as she extended her arm and hooked her index finger in the dip of Emma’s shirt.

Ruby leaned over the counter, her bare midriff and skimpy denim covered ass on display for the entire diner, and gave Emma a peck on the cheek.

Emma furrowed her brow and pulled away from Ruby as the waitress released Emma’s shirt and stood up straight again.

“Um, are you feeling okay,” Emma asked as Ruby grinned like the Cheshire cat and turned to the customers.

Emma, confused, turned her head to the customers who were all staring with shocked expressions.

“I’m fine,” Ruby continued to smile as she looked at Emma again. “Just giving them all the show they want.”

“What happened to your shameful look this morning?”

“Oh, that? It was only because Granny yelled at me for trying to get in your pants.”

One of Emma’s eyebrows shot into her hairline.

“She kept telling me, pointing her finger, saying, ‘She’s the sheriff. Things like that will surely get her into trouble.’ And, ‘She’s got a child, Ruby. The mayor’s son of all kids! You don’t want to cause trouble.’”

“Ugh. She’s right. Regina would have a fit if you tried to be Henry’s third mommy.”

Ruby laughed until a thought occurred to her.

“How are things with her? You hang out here every afternoon with Henry after school, right?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s not upset about that.”

“No. We have an arrangement. So far no problems. Well, none about the arrangement.”

Ruby suspiciously eyed Emma for a moment before she returned to her casual demeanor.

“Your usual?”

“Yeah, and um…can I get a Greek salad too?”

Ruby stared at Emma completely taken aback by the blonde’s selection.

“A salad? You want your usual burger…and a salad.”

Emma gave a tight, nervous smile and shrugged.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you eat a green thing in the time I’ve known you except for pickles. You even pick the lettuce off your burgers and there’s only one leaf in there.”

“I’m going on a diet.”

“But you’re still ordering a burger.”

“I can’t just go on a diet, Ruby. I’ve got to wane myself off the greasy foods slowly otherwise I’ll cave and break the diet. It’s happened before. In Boston.”

Ruby sighed and gave up.

“Fine. Burger and fries with a Greek salad on the side.”

“No, I don’t want it on the side. I want the whole salad.”

“Seriously?”

Emma nodded.

“Mark my words, Emma Swan, I will find out what’s really going on,” Ruby warningly yet teasingly pointed at her.

Emma chuckled as she watched Ruby disappear into the kitchen. After a few seconds, she looked around the diner and realized she’d attracted a few more onlookers.

She rolled her eyes and directed her attention to a salt shaker. She picked it up and sprinkled a small pile in front of her before she returned the shaker to its rightful place on the bar. She pushed the salt around with her fingertips as she waited and made several different shapes before Ruby reappeared.

The waitress strutted out to serve some drinks to one of the tables.

Emma continued to play with the salt and started to spell a word with it.

Ruby walked around the counter and slid the tray she’d used to carry the drinks onto the shelf under the counter.

Ruby looked up to see Emma rubbing her fingers along the counter, too far away to tell what she was doing, before Granny called her back to the kitchen.

Emma frowned and grabbed the salt shaker. She poured out twice as much as she had the first time and finished the “c” to make a “g”.

Ruby came out of the kitchen once again and brought a few orders out to a couple tables.

When Ruby finished serving, she returned to Emma.

“What are you doing,” Ruby asked as she slowly walked over to Emma from behind the counter.

Emma had just finished the lower case “a” when Ruby took the last few steps to get to her. Emma brushed away the salt in one flick of her wrist over the countertop and rested her chin in the palm of the same hand.

Ruby quizzically stared at the sheriff.

Emma smiled before she answered.

“Playing with my food.”

Ruby shook her head with a smile of her own.

“I’m going to have to clean that up, you know.”

“Sorry.”

“Burger and a salad,” Granny called from the kitchen.

Ruby spun on her heels and retrieved Emma’s order. When she placed the bag on the counter in front of her friend, Granny appeared in the doorway to the kitchen over Ruby’s shoulder.

“Sheriff,” Granny greeted with a semi-warm smile.

“Hi, Granny,” Emma smirked as she stifled her laughter.

“Are you coming by later,” the gray haired women asked.

“Not today.”

“What about tomorrow?”

“Oh my god. Gran, can she have a _little_ privacy? What does it mean to you if she stops in for food?”

“It means you’ll see each other and the hormones will go flying and all Hell will break loose. Keep your hands to yourself,” she warned Ruby with a pointed finger then looked at Emma. “And Sheriff, I know my granddaughter gives you a lot to see, but there’s more in this town to see than what’s got. Understand?”

“Got it,” Emma said as she raised two fingers to her forehead and saluted.

Granny stared at her for a moment longer with strict, parental eyes before she turned back into the kitchen and left them alone.

Ruby looked at Emma again and waited a couple seconds before the two of them broke out in hushed laughter. They sounded like giggling teenagers.

“Did you see the finger,” Ruby asked before she comically reenacted Granny’s posture and pointed at Emma.

Emma laughed more and caused Ruby to break out of her impersonation to laugh with her.

“I should get going,” Emma said as she slid off the bar stool.

“Okay. See you tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah.”

“Come in early. We can have breakfast before my shift starts.”

“How early,” Emma asked with a serious tone like Ruby’s answer would determine how soon the two of them would talk again.

“Seven thirty. Think you can handle that?”

Emma lightly laughed.

“Yeah. Maybe then it’ll give us time to talk about this front page news scandal seriously.”

“You got it,” Ruby smiled. “Tell Henry I said hi.”

“Sure.”

As Emma left the diner, she could feel everyone’s gaze on her. She didn’t bother to turn around and confirm her gut feeling. She just went straight to her yellow bug and drove to her shared apartment.

* * *

When Emma opened the door a few minutes after she’d arrived at the apartment, Regina stood on the other side with a displeased look on her face. She had a hand on her cocked hip and gracefully flung around a feather duster in the other hand.

She wore a black trench coat, black stockings, and four inch, black “fuck me” pumps. Beyond that, Emma couldn’t tell what she had on, though the fluff in the bottom half of the coat gave her an idea.

“I stopped by the diner today,” Regina flatly said as she stared at the feather end of the duster. “I almost went in even when I saw you there.”

Regina looked from the feather duster to Emma before she took a step closer to the blonde, effectively pushing herself into the apartment, before she continued.

“She kissed you again.”

“It didn’t mean anything. Everyone in town is making this big deal about her and me so she was just messing with them.”

“I don’t what she was doing. I don’t want her touching you,” Regina said as she stuck the feather duster in Emma’s face and twirled it around as she glided further into the apartment.

Emma scrunched up her face and leaned back to get away from the feathers. Even as she took a step back, Regina pushed the feather duster further into her face.

Emma spat at the feathers as they tickled her lips and finally swatted Regina’s hand away from her.

The brunette airily looked away from Emma as though she was merely a peasant. She strode forward a few steps as she slipped out of her coat then turned to face the other woman.

Emma’s eyes naturally, uncontrollably, looked over Regina from head to toe. The mayor had come there to satisfy Emma’s request as she displayed toned, tan legs and impressive cleavage in an unbelievably short black and white outfit. With the amount of skin the French maid’s uniform showed, Emma could clearly see the red and purple mark she’d left on Regina’s collarbone.

“I didn’t stick around for the main event,” Regina disrupted Emma’s viewing. “Did you give a good show, complete with making out on the counter? Or are you planning to go back for more after work?”

“It was a peck on the cheek, Regina. We’re just friends. And it’s not like we’re dating so…I don’t owe you monogamy.”

“I believe we’ve had this conversation, dear,” Regina said in a sickly sweet tone.

“Yeah, and _you_ initiated both of them.”

“I want to make something very clear to you.”

Emma sighed in defeat.

“Fine. What is it?”

“I need to show you,” Regina said as she closed most of the space between them and grabbed Emma’s wrist.

She tugged the blonde up the stairs behind her and went into Emma’s bedroom. She fast walked like a furious runway model on a catwalk as she made her way to the younger woman’s bed. She yanked on Emma’s arm and forced her to land flat on her back against the mattress.

Emma bounced a couple times before Regina stilled her by placing one of her pumps on Emma’s right hip. Her heel nestled between Emma’s legs at her center.

Emma had a perfect view up Regina’s skirt and saw what undergarment decision the brunette had made. No panties. Her mouth fell open as she stared.

Regina used the feather duster as though it were a riding crop and pushed it under Emma’s chin. She forced Emma’s eyes to shift from her sex to her dark eyes.

“We’ve got a fun thing going here, a nice little game. I say you’re mine and you say I’m yours. You may say it to me as a joke or just to get a rise out of me, I don’t particularly care. But when I say you’re mine. I mean it. You, Emma Swan, are _mine_.”

Emma gulped, though it wasn’t out of fear.

“I would tell you I own you, but I know you wouldn’t like that and you’d fight me on it. This lesson I’m trying to teach you would turn into a competition, you would try to prove that you’re your own person and can’t be claimed like some pet. It’s long and boring and I just need you to understand what it means to be mine.”

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but Regina moved the feather duster to her mouth. Emma immediately closed her mouth and threw her head back to avoid choking on any feathers.

Regina lowered the feather duster to Emma’s sternum and held it there for a moment before she tossed it aside.

“Now I’m only going to say this once so when I do say it, you had better listen,” Regina warned with a smoky voice. “But now’s the time for demonstration.”

Regina brought her right foot back down to the floor. She bent over and unbuttoned Emma’s jeans. How the blonde managed to get them back on after Regina had reopened the “R” on her thigh made no sense to the brunette, but she had other things that needed her focus more.

“Slide up to the headboard,” Regina commanded as she gripped the waistband of Emma’s jeans on either side.

Emma pulled herself backward on the bed with her arms and as she moved, Regina gently tugged on tight denim until her legs were bare.

Regina let the jeans fall beside her on the side of the bed before she got onto the mattress with Emma. She crawled on all fours to meet the blonde at the head of the bed then brushed blonde curls over Emma’s shoulder. She exposed one side of Emma’s neck and leaned in. Her lips lightly pressed down on fair skin in a chaste kiss.


	21. Chapter 21

Henry sat in the passenger seat with a wide smile on his face as Emma drove him back to the house. He had been beaming since they got in the yellow bug.

Emma looked over and lightly chuckled when she saw his face.

“I must have done something right,” Emma said.

“Huh?”

“To put that smile on your face. I don't think I've ever seen you so happy.”

“Oh, right,” Henry directed his smile at her, but didn't elaborate before he looked out at the road again.

“Do you want to tell me what I did to make you smile so that way I can do it again sometime? Maybe on purpose?”

Henry slowly turned back to her, still smiling though less in a trance like he seemed to be in earlier.

“You read the book.”

“Well, not all of it, but...” Emma trailed off as she briefly took her eyes off the road. “That's it? You're happy because I read a book? And I told you earlier that I'd read it when I picked you up from school. You didn't start smiling about it until now.”

“Because I was too busy smiling about beating you at bowling,” Henry laughed as he looked at her again.

Emma's jaw dropped as she glanced over at him with laughter in her eyes. She chuckled and shook her head.

“You amaze me, kid. Sometimes...sometimes I don't know who you're more like, me or your mom.”

Emma parked the car in her usual spot on the curb, just behind the bushes.

Regina could hear the yellow bug as it pulled up. When she checked one of the side windows next to the door, she could see the beat up hood peak out from behind the bushes.

She faintly smiled at the sight before she heard the oven demand her attention then disappeared into the kitchen.

Emma shut the door and released a deep sigh of the breath she'd held the moment she parked. She waited behind the bug as she stuffed her hands into her pockets and stared down the pathway at the front door. A small smile crept across her face for the briefest of moments before Henry startled her out of her reverie.

“Emma, come on! I'm hungry,” Henry waved her over as he whined.

“Right. Sorry,” Emma shook her head before she awkwardly shuffled around the car.

Emma put an arm around his shoulder and walked him up to the door. She pulled Henry closer into her side for a half-hug before she knocked on the door.

Regina opened the door with her eyes set on Emma, a small and regal smile directed at her before it spread into a genuine smile directed at Henry.

“I hope Miss Swan didn't feed you. I made Chicken Alfredo.”

“She didn't,” Henry started as his mouth watered at the mention of food. “She starved me!”

Henry ran past Regina and into the dining room where the food had been set out. He grabbed a fork and licked his lips before he attacked one of the two plates on the table.

Emma lightly laughed as she watched him scarf down almost half of his plate in seconds from behind one of the walls that threatened to block her vision of him.

“You starved him,” Regina slowly asked with a grin.

“That's what happens when you don't let me spoil him,” Emma casually joked as she shrugged.

“Look who's no longer the fun mom,” Regina's eyes sparkled as she continued to grin.

“I still think I'm the fun mom in all this. We went bowling today.”

“Hmm.”

Regina's grin faded as she sized up Emma, a hand still on the door. Suddenly, Emma's stomach growled.

Regina laughed.

“Are you starving too, dear,” Regina haughtily asked.

“Maybe a little.”

“Would you care for dinner?”

“Seriously? You're...asking me to stay for dinner and it's not because Henry is twisting your arm about it?”

“The offer expires in three, two-”

“Okay! Yes, I'd like dinner.”

Regina proudly smiled and stepped aside to allow the blonde inside.

Emma made her way into the foyer and stopped at the stairs just before Regina closed the front door.

“There's more on the stove,” Regina said as he walked up behind Emma.

Regina looked to Henry and saw his only interest was his food. She salaciously smirked and ran her hand down Emma's backside.

Emma stiffened.

“I believe you know where the plates and silverware are,” Regina purred.

Regina slid her hand between Emma's thighs as she lowly chuckled then smacked Emma's center.

Emma softly moaned at the contact.

“I wouldn't mind if you stayed for dessert either,” Regina purred again as she pulled back Emma's hair.

Regina dipped her head and grazed Emma's pulse point with her lips and teeth. 

Emma's eyes fluttered shut.

“What's for dessert,” Emma asked, though she had a hunch dessert didn't belong to one of the major food groups.

“Mm. You.”

Regina massaged Emma's center under the blonde's skirt.

Emma bit her bottom lip.

“I'll only stay if you're on the menu too.”

“That can be arranged,” Regina said as she removed her hand from Emma's center and brought it to blonde curls.

Regina gripped the younger woman's hair and turned Emma's head. She gave the Sheriff a kiss between chaste and heated then broke the kiss as she slipped into the dining room.

Emma took a deep breath and puffed out a sigh before she walked toward the kitchen. She immediately went for the plates since they were in her line of vision and she couldn't really remember what drawer held the silverware.

She timidly stepped up to the stove and peered into the half empty pan of noodles. She scooped up a moderate size of the pasta and awkwardly dumped it onto the plate with a strained, worried face. She went on her search for the silverware drawer and tried to recall the last time she was in Regina's kitchen. Henry had helped her find everything and told her how Regina liked to organize things. Within a minute, she remembered where Henry had pointed to when she needed some kind of utensil.

She opened the drawer and inwardly celebrated that she'd found it by herself. She grabbed a fork and headed into the dining room to join Henry and Regina.

Henry looked up from his food, a mouth full of noodles, when he noticed Emma on her way to the table. He quickly slurped up the noodle that hung from his pursed lips.

“You're having dinner with us,” he asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah, is that okay,” Emma asked as she took a seat between Regina and Henry.

“It's awesome,” he exclaimed as he dropped his fork onto his plate and jumped out of his chair. 

He ran over to Emma just as she set her plate down on the table and hugged her from the side. He wrapped his little arms around her and squeezed.

“Oh,” Emma uncontrollably said when Henry ran into her side.

Emma placed a hand over one of Henry's arms and smiled.

“Well, you can thank your mom. She invited me in for a bite,” Emma said before her eyes wandered to Regina.

Regina grinned and looked to see Henry's eyes were tightly shut as he continued to hug the blonde. She turned her attention back to Emma and opened her mouth only to snap it shut in a biting motion.

Emma parted her lips at the insinuation.

Henry pulled away with a smile reserved for Emma, but after a moment to allow the blonde's words sink in he directed it at Regina.

Regina had quickly changed her expression to mask the teasing looks she'd given Emma before Henry had time to witness anything he shouldn't.

“Really,” he excitedly, though also disbelievingly, asked Regina.

“Yes,” Regina smiled and nodded.

“Why,” Henry curiously asked as he tilted his head to the side.

“My stomach,” Emma started as she redirected Henry's attention back to her. “Made this really angry sound. Your mom thought I didn't have much food at the apartment, and she was right, so she asked if I wanted to have dinner here.”

“Thanks,” Henry said after a moment when he turned to Regina again.

He went in for a hug, not as tight or aggressively loving like the one he'd given Emma, but Regina would take what she could get. He'd rarely enjoyed her company lately then anyway. A hug was more affection than she'd received from her son in months.

“Does that mean we can eat in the living room and have a movie marathon,” Henry asked as he gleefully pushed his luck. “Emma and I bought new movies today before we went bowling.”

“Oh?”

Regina looked from Henry to Emma.

“Uh, yeah,” Emma sheepishly said. “Apparently the movies I had in my car weren't good enough for him and we were passing the store on the way to bowling so...we stopped in to find the right cinematic adventures.”

“Cinematic adventures,” Regina stated rather than asked as she stared Emma down.

Regina's expression might have been meant to intimidate enemies, but it only turned Emma on more than she already was from the brunette's previous actions.

“Yeah,” Henry happily piped up. “It makes movies like Grown Ups and The Proposal, and Madagascar sound cool.”

Regina chuckled.

“Did _you_ come up with that,” Regina asked as she kept her focus on Henry for the moment.

“Well, Emma said 'cinematic adventures' and then I said 'that sounds cool' and then it kind of became a thing,” Henry explained.

Regina couldn't help but smile.

“So can we eat in the living room,” Henry asked again, almost bouncing with anticipation.

Regina took a deep breath and sighed as she thought it over. She stared at Henry for a few moments before she looked at Emma.

“Fine,” Regina agreed as she kept her eyes locked on Emma's.

“Yes,” Henry yelled with a wide smile before he ran around the table and grabbed his plate.

“But if you spill anything,” Regina strictly warned with a pointed finger as Henry headed into the living room.

“Yeah, yeah, I'll have to clean it up and won't be able to eat in the living room for the next three months or until you think I've learned my lesson,” Henry finished for her in a monotone as he continued toward the couch.

Emma grinned as she watched Henry situate himself in the living room before she turned to Regina. She opened her mouth to say something, but Regina beat her to it.

“He definitely gets that from you, dear.”

“I'm so proud,” Emma continued to grin.

Regina rolled her eyes and stood.

“Coming, dear,” Regina asked as she headed toward the living room.

“I didn't think that was until dessert,” Emma teasingly joked as she stood and gathered her plate.

Regina looked over her shoulder at the blonde.

“Are you that impatient that you have to make reference to sex every few minutes,” Regina asked with a smoky tone.

“I think the real question is, are you that impatient that you can't keep your eyes off me for more than a minute?”

Regina looked over her shoulder again and caused Emma to laugh.

“Told you,” Emma smirked.

Regina slowed before she crossed the threshold to the living room and turned half her body to face Emma as the blonde ran into her back.

“I'm going to bite especially hard tonight,” Regina growled.

“And maybe _I'll_ be the one to sit on _your_ face tonight,” Emma threw back with a low voice. “Or do you not remember the first time you came over to clean the apartment?”

Regina gulped and parted her lips as she heavily exhaled.

Emma victoriously smirked as she stepped around Regina and confidently walked into the living room. She took a seat on the couch next to Henry and set her plate on the coffee table before she messed up his hair with her left hand and smiled.

Regina took a moment to compose herself as she felt a rush of heat consume her body after hearing Emma's words. Once she felt her body temperature return to normal, she sauntered into the living room and took a seat at the end of the couch, next to Emma and farthest from Henry. It wasn't her choice, but she didn't mind being close to the blonde in the slightest.

“So...what movie do you want to watch first,” Emma asked.

“Other than the ones I named earlier, what movies did we get,” Henry asked.

“Uh,” Emma struggled to name them off the top of her head.

As Emma started to go through the list with Henry, Regina couldn't help but longingly stare at the younger woman. Her eyes, along with her mind, drifted to Emma's back. She watched it curve and straighten with the different ways Emma moved as she talked to Henry. Her eyes fell lower to the patch of exposed skin between Emma's shirt and skirt. Fair skin was on display and it seemed like it was just for her. She wanted to reach out and trace the dimples on the small of Emma's back, let her fingers dip with the tiny indents. There seemed to be many parts of Emma's body Regina had failed to give attention to in all the times they spent together, though it was of no shock to her. They had only recently began to appreciate one another, their bodies, when they had sex.

Regina would make sure to enjoy every part of Emma she could that night. The only thing that prevented her from doing it at that moment sat two couch cushions away with a big smile on his face as he listened to Emma talk about some movie or another.

Regina gazed at Emma for a moment longer before Henry shot off the couch and held a hand out to Emma. Regina instantly pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked at the boy.

“Keys," he asked Emma.

Regina furrowed her brow and frowned as she tried to catch up with the conversation she'd clearly missed.

Emma reached into jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of jingling keys. She placed them in Henry's hand as she spoke.

“I'm gonna watch you from the porch, okay? Don't get any ideas and think you can just ride off into the night like some badass.”

“Language,” Regina quickly scolded Emma as she only partially filled in the blanks of the conversation.

“Sorry,” Emma softly said over her shoulder to Regina.

“Is he getting something from your car,” Regina asked.

“Yeah, the movies,” Emma quizzically looked at Regina. “Didn't you hear us talking about it just now?”

“Watch him closely, Miss Swan,” Regina ignored the question. “It'll be dark soon and there are a few people in this town I wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley.”

“Pfft,” Henry readied himself for an argument as if it was second nature. “Like anyone could be scarier than you. You're the Evil-”

Regina almost looked hurt at the words that came out of Henry's mouth, but the pained look on her face disappeared and was replaced with confusion when he didn't finish his sentence.

Henry noticed Emma's expression and cut himself off.

Emma warningly glared at him and he immediately understood not to say anything more.

“Never mind,” Henry quickly said as he looked down at the floor before Emma relinquished complete control over her keys.

Henry spun around and headed for the door without apologizing or even saying another word.

Emma pushed off the couch and got to her feet. She looked over her shoulder, her gaze directed down at Regina who remained on the couch.

“I'll keep an eye on him,” Emma said before she followed Henry out.

Regina felt relief and something else she couldn't quite place wash over her. Though she didn't deserve it, Emma had stopped Henry from calling her the Evil Queen. It may have been an accurate title, but she didn't want her son to see her as a villain. Emma seemed to feel the same way.

Emma watched Henry grab the movies from the floor of the passenger's seat with her arms folded across her chest.

Henry hurried to collect the bag of newly purchased movies then shut the door and jogged his way up the walkway.

Emma smiled and unfolded her arms just before Henry reached the step up to the porch.

“Did you lock it,” Emma asked as she took the keys from him.

“Yep,” he answered as he kept walking toward the house.

Emma shut the door behind Henry and locked it.

Henry, though he moved at a normal pace, wasted no time with his return to the living room. When he reached the couch, he set the plastic bag with all the movies on it and pulled out the one he wanted to watch. He left the bag on the couch, in Emma's spot, and went toward the TV.

Both the TV and DVD player were on and Regina seemed to just be settling back into her seat as Henry reached up to put the movie in. He didn't pay much attention to her, his only goal to watch movies with Emma.

At least that was how it appeared to Regina.

Emma reentered the living room and smiled at Regina as the brunette smoothed down her work attire, which she had yet to change out of.

“I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to slip into something more comfortable,” Emma smirked.

“That won't be necessary until later,” Regina said as Henry turned and headed back to the couch.

The movie started to load as Emma moved to her seat. She grabbed the bag of movies and set them aside behind the couch before she sat down.

The three of them finished their plates almost halfway through the movie. Regina, not too invested in the film, collected all their dishes and cleaned them up in the sink. She ran them under the water for a minute or so before she scrubbed them clean then set them in the dishwasher. It took her another ten minutes give or take before she went back to the living room.

In what seemed to her like the blink of an eye, Regina returned to find Henry curled up next to Emma on the couch. Emma had an arm wrapped around his shoulders and kept him close while their eyes stayed glued to the screen.

Regina approached quietly and cautiously as Henry started to talk.

“Emma,” Henry softly asked as the movie still played. “What happened to my dad?”

Regina froze, halfway to the couch, when she heard Henry's question. With Emma and Henry facing the TV, neither one of them could see her where she stood.

“Uh,” Emma stuttered. “I... He...”

Regina had only heard one story about him and knew the topic of Henry's father struck a nerve for Emma. She didn't know his name or what he did or why he wasn't in the picture, though she assumed about the latter.

Henry turned to look at Emma and the blonde sensed his eyes on her.

Emma looked down at him with a frown and sheer panic in her eyes. After a moment of internally deliberating, she gave him an answer.

“I...wasn't your best chance,” Emma started. “You remember how I told you that?”

Henry nodded.

“Well, that's because I didn't have a lot growing up. I didn't have my parents, I didn't live like you do, I was...troubled.”

Regina stood and listened to the story. For some reason, hearing Emma talk about her past intrigued her. She suddenly wanted to know more about the blonde and finally get some answers about Henry's father, something she hadn't been successful at during her and Emma's massage session.

“I met this guy. I mean, your dad wasn't just some guy,” Emma quickly corrected. “But at first, he was. We weren't exactly like the fairy tales in your book. We didn't meet in the best or most romantic situation and we really only had the yellow bug I drive around now. We did what we had to so we'd survive. We were kids from the street.”

Both Henry and Regina continued to listen with extreme focus.

“We knew each other for about a year before I got pregnant with you and...well, things didn't turn out so well between us. Truth is, I don't know where he is or what he's doing. I haven't spoken to him since...well, before you were born.”

“Was he a good guy?”

Emma's breath hitched as she failed to find an answer that wouldn't be lying but also wouldn't crush him.

“He treated me with a lot more respect than anyone else in my life had before I met him. And there were a lot of people after him that didn't respect me as much either so...I'd say he was a good guy. But...Henry...there's something I need you to understand, okay?”

Emma turned her body to face him as she folded her left leg onto the couch.

“Things aren't always as black and white as they seem. It's not always good and evil,” Emma continued. “Your dad had his 'hero' moments, but...well, let me put it to you this way. Even if your mom was the Evil Queen, I'm sure there's a lot more to that story than what you're reading. The same could be said about your dad. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?”

“That...my dad was a good guy, but he did a few bad things?”

“I'm gonna be honest with you, kid, and I really hope this doesn't bite me in the ass.”

Regina refrained from lecturing Emma about her choice of words and continued to listen.

“You think of me as the hero in this story, our story. You think Regina is the bad guy, the villain. I've done a lot of stupid things, things I regret. Things I hope you never do, never have to do, and things I'd rather not tell you. The most important thing you know about what I've done is give you up. It's true that I did that for your own good. You wouldn't...”

Emma trailed off and sighed. She didn't know how to talk about herself or her choices to the ten year old she put up for adoption. She could barely admit it all to herself let alone another adult. She didn't know how to phrase things that put her in the middle of the story so she avoided putting herself in the middle.

“Regina's the one who's given you more than I ever could back then. Hell, she can still give you so much more than I can.”

“But she's the-”

“I don't care. You know what, I don't. I read the story about the Evil Queen, Henry. Here's the thing, the Evil Queen couldn't have raised a kid as remarkable and good as you. So even if the book is true and your mom is the Evil Queen, she can't be all that bad. At least not since she got you.”

“Did you skip a few pages? She cursed the entire town. She tried to kill Snow White, your mom. She even tried to stop you from going through the wardrobe! In the book, she asked Snow White where you were after your dad put you in the wardrobe to get you here, to bring you to this world.”

“Henry.”

“What, that's what happened! She's not good, Emma. She can't be.”

“You know what,” Emma angrily started. “You owe your mom an apology and a hug and a thank you! She's fed you, cared for you, loved you, and look at this place! If I didn't know any better, I'd call you a spoiled little brat. Regina is Regina. She's your mom, not the Evil Queen. She's given you everything a kid should have, everything I never did. Believe the book is real, fine! I'll even so much as admit that yes, your mom has a few bad days and she gets kind of angry and then maybe acts a little like the so called Evil Queen, but that doesn't mean you get to disrespect her like she hasn't done so much for you. Got it?”

Henry stayed quiet for a moment.

Regina waited with bated breath for his answer and kept a smile from spreading across her face. Though she managed a small, sincere smile at Emma's words.

Henry nodded.

Both Regina and Emma smiled, but Regina's smile beat Emma's by about a hundred Watts.

“Good,” Emma said as she pulled Henry closer, back into his previous position curled up at her side.

Regina took a deep breath and relaxed before she walked the rest of the distance back to her seat on the couch.

“Did I miss anything,” Regina innocently asked as she tried to make herself comfortable.

“No,” Emma said with a straight face before she looked at Henry.

Henry smiled and shook his head when he saw Emma stare at him. He turned his attention back to the movie and hoped he wouldn't be in too much trouble with the blonde later.

Emma turned back to Regina and smiled.

Regina fought her hardest not to take Emma's hand in hers, but the fact that she wanted to should have been cause for concern. And yet, all she could think about was all the things she'd do to Emma once Henry was asleep.

* * *

A little more than two hours later, the second movie had finished and Henry was fast asleep in Emma's lap. His head rested more on the upper part of her left thigh, something that worried both Emma and Regina given the gauze underneath her tights and the fact that her wound was sensitive, prone to open with the slightest ill advised move.

Regina stood first and turned off the TV without stopping the DVD first as the end credits rolled. It wasn't her concern at the time.

“Do you want me to get him,” Regina asked.

“No, I think I've got it,” Emma replied as she gently started to lift Henry off of herself.

Regina smiled as she stared at the two of them. As fearful as she was about Emma's injury, she couldn't shake the fact that she thought the idea of Henry falling asleep in Emma's lap was cute. It was something she thought she could get used to, another person around the house to help take care of him. Another person around to make, dare she say it, a family.

Emma got Henry into a sitting position and held him up with one arm as she slowly stood beside Regina who had moved to be in front of Henry.

“Here,” Regina said as she leaned in and tried to scoop him up.

Regina lifted him into her arms with a grunt of discomfort and unease.

Emma smiled and sandwiched Henry in between the two of them before she physically nudged Regina to lean most of his weight onto her.

Regina could barely hold him and she didn't want to wake him up so she carefully handed him off to Emma.

“I think this will be the last time I carry him to his bed. He's getting too old for us to be doing this,” Emma whispered before she lightly laughed.

“I have no arguments there,” Regina agreed.

Emma headed toward the stairs with Regina at her side.

Without warning, Regina placed a hand on Emma's shoulder as they left the living room. She soothingly rubbed her hand between Emma's shoulder blades and dropped it back down to her side when they reached the staircase landing.

Regina placed the hand she once had on Emma's shoulder blades onto the railing and stayed behind the younger woman in case she fell back given Henry's weight.

Within minutes, the two of them were in Henry's room.

Regina helped Emma lay him in his bed then pulled back one side of Henry's covers while Emma pulled back the other. They shared the responsibility of tucking him in that night and when they had him snuggled up under his comforter, they looked at each other from opposite sides of the bed.

They locked eyes for a long moment before they straightened up and made their way to the door.

Emma motioned for Regina to step out first, which caused Regina to quizzically stare at Emma before she left the room. Emma followed her out and shut the door behind them.

Regina spun on her heels and stopped Emma before she could get more than a step away from Henry's door.

“Guest room,” Regina ordered.

Emma dropped her jaw in shock. Her legs wouldn't move, wouldn't cooperate with her at all, though her mind and heart knew where she was needed: the guest room.

Regina walked toward her and pushed her by the shoulder to turn her in the opposite direction of the stairs. She guided Emma down the hallway to the guest room with a hand on Emma's shoulder at all times.

Emma opened the door and Regina nearly pushed her inside.

Before Emma could get even one word out of her mouth, Regina had the door shut behind them. She noted Regina's eyes were already dark with desire the second she turned around.

Regina looked Emma over, a head to toe scan, and grinned when she met Emma's almost deer-in-a-headlight gaze. She looked a little innocent and more lost than Regina had ever seen her. As much as she liked Emma to fight her, start a fire in her belly to get her going, she did happen to like that particular look on the Sheriff. She liked it when she knew Emma was dumbfounded and all because of her. She didn't think she'd ever felt like she had that much power when she reigned over the kingdom, when she was the Queen. She started to feel like that kind of power, the power she truly wanted, was something only Emma could give her. But if she really thought about the kind of power she wanted, was it really power or something else?

Regina didn't spend her time thinking. She saw what she wanted in that moment, a woman with blonde hair that knew how to get under her skin. Emma stood only a few feet away, all hers for the taking. But even as Regina rushed toward Emma and pinned her against the bed, she didn't want to take anything from Emma. Instead, she used her skills of show rather than tell to communicate what she did want to do.

Both of Emma's feet where firmly on the floor, her legs over the side of the bed as Regina straddled her right thigh and leaned in.

Regina smothered Emma with her own body as she feverishly claimed Emma's lips. One hand slid up the right side of Emma's stomach and came to cup Emma's breast.

Emma moaned into the kiss as she arched her back for Regina. She wrapped her arms around Regina's neck and grabbed a fistful of brunette hair with one hand.

Regina pleasantly hummed before she tore her lips away from Emma's and moved to the blonde's neck. She kissed then bit the younger woman's pulse point over and over again.

Emma moaned again, longer that time as she turned her head to offer more skin to Regina. She let go of Regina's hair but kept her arms around her neck. She gave the brunette free reign over her own body and reveled in the way the mayor made her feel because of that.

Regina pulled away after a few minutes and stood up.

"Scoot back," Regina gently ordered.

Emma slid further onto the bed, like she had earlier that day in the apartment. She relaxed against the pillows and watched Regina hurry onto the bed after her.

Regina slithered on top of Emma and rested a hand on the front of the Sheriff's right hip. She lowered her lips to Emma's neck again. She left a trail of wet kisses in her wake on her way to the unmarked part of Emma's clavicle. She kissed the blonde's collarbone before she lightly raked her teeth over the skin. She kissed it again then gently bit her.

Emma's breathing became labored and erratic as she grabbed at Regina. She frantically clawed at the back of Regina's dress and forced the brunette further on top of her.

"Dress," Emma breathlessly said as Regina started to kiss her way down Emma's chest.

Regina sat up on her knees and Emma pushed the dress up to the brunette's hips.

Regina grinned as she throatily chuckled. She brushed her short hair out of her face then reached behind herself and unzipped the dress. She pushed the dress away from herself, over her shoulders and down her front. She brought the dress down to her lap before she slid off the bed and let it fall to her feet.

"Now you," Regina said as she waited to get back on the bed.

Emma tugged at her skirt and lifted her hips off the bed. She pulled the skirt down to her knees and sat up. She pushed the skirt down to her ankles and felt Regina grip at the hem of her shirt. Emma raised her arms as Regina began to peel off her shirt. She kicked her skirt off the side of the bed and it landed in crumpled heap on the floor.

Regina removed Emma's shirt and tossed it almost completely across the room. She knelt on the bed and hungrily leaned in. She crashed her lips against Emma's chest and scraped her teeth over the valley between the blonde's breasts. She kissed and bit at Emma's skin a few times before she scooped her arms under Emma's body and unhooked her bra. She brought her mouth to Emma's stomach as she pulled the straps down the blonde's shoulders.

Emma moved to help Regina get rid of the bra. She propped herself up on her elbows and reached out to Regina. She gripped the back of Regina's neck with one of her hands and pulled the brunette close. She brought Regina's lips to hers and moaned at the contact. She slid her tongue across Regina's bottom lip.

Regina moaned and allowed Emma access. She slithered further up Emma's body and kissed the blonde more and more until she felt that same heart warming feeling she had earlier that afternoon. With one of her forearms pressed into the bed up against Emma's side while her other hand snaked up Emma's front, she broke the kiss and brought her lips down to Emma's left breast.

Emma groaned when Regina pulled away from the kiss but whimpered when the other woman directed her attention to the Sheriff's nipple.

Regina swirled her tongue over and around the pink bud and teasingly traced around the other with her fingertips. She moved with Emma as the younger woman arched into her mouth and her touch. She sucked on one nipple and ran two fingers over the other. Her nails gently scraped over it and caused Emma to appreciatively hum and arch further toward Regina. It brought a smile to Regina's face as she let go of Emma's nipple with a subtle pop and began to kiss down the younger woman's stomach.

She dipped her tongue into Emma's navel and nipped at the skin above it, at the top of her navel.

Emma bucked her hips to bring herself closer to Regina yet again. She reached down and started to push her tights off. She exposed a small portion of her panties, but couldn't push her tights any lower with Regina on top of her.

Regina moaned and flicked her tongue over the bitten area of Emma's navel before she pulled back.

"I'll get it," Regina grinned. "Can you move much?"

"I...don't know," Emma said as she innocently stared up at Regina. "I haven't really tried."

"Do you want to?"

"Want to...?"

"Try."

"Uh...yeah."

Regina rolled onto her back and turned to Emma.

"Get on top," Regina more suggested than demanded.

Emma smiled, her features glowing before she got onto her knees above the brunette and looked down at Regina.

"Why, Madam Mayor," Emma started with feigned shock. "I never took you as a bottom."

"All this time and you still don't know me. Sad. I'm not a bottom, dear."

Regina didn't give Emma any more explanation before she pulled Emma's tights down to the woman's knees.

"I want to watch you move," Regina added.

She smirked at the sight of Emma's panties then slowly scanned her eyes up the Sheriff's body until their eyes locked. She reached out and played with Emma's panty line.

"Aren't you tired of seeing me," Emma asked as she awkwardly moved her hands to several different positions in an attempt to cover herself.

"No," Regina said as she released Emma's panties and grabbed the woman's wrists to stop her from covering herself. "You're far too beautiful and entirely too feisty to tire of in any way."

"Look who knows what to say now," Emma smiled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you like me."

"If that's what you think then it's only because you seem to like me."

Emma leaned in and her hair fell over her shoulders. Blonde tresses cascaded around Emma's breasts as she chastely kissed Regina. She pulled back and reached down to tug at Regina's panties.

Regina arched her back and bucked her hips at the appropriate times to help Emma remove her panties.

After Emma discarded the lacy material she didn't have the chance to remove during their lunch break, she started to kiss her way up one of Regina's legs and simultaneously ran her hand up her other leg. When she reached Regina's thighs, she moved her hand to Regina's hip and nipped at the brunette's right thigh.

Regina made sounds of encouragement and spread her legs for Emma. She reached down and gripped a handful of blonde tresses. She tried to bring Emma's mouth closer to her center as gently as possible, her need growing.

Emma moved up Regina's body and pulled her mouth away from the mayor's thigh. She smiled down at Regina then held out her hand to the woman.

Regina looked from Emma to her outstretched hand.

"Really? We exchange bodily fluids and you're hesitant to take my hand?"

Regina scrunched up her face in distaste.

"So crass," Regina said as she looked into Emma's eyes again.

She took Emma's hand and the blonde lifted her into a sitting position.

"Um, this isn't the best time, but I don't know. You flipped out on me earlier today and I want to avoid any issues with you."

Regina furrowed her brow.

"Well, that's a first."

Emma nervously laughed.

"I know. I just, I want to know where we stand."

Regina frowned and looked down at their joined hands. She cleared her throat and tried to shift positions, but she could only move so much with Emma between her legs.

"Why do we have to 'stand' anywhere? We're not in a relationship," Regina answered after a moment.

"So...would it bother you if I had breakfast with Ruby tomorrow before the diner opens," Emma slowly asked.

Regina met Emma's eyes once more and searched them for something, though she wasn't sure what.

"You're asking for my permission."

Emma paused before she nodded.

"I told you how I feel about your time spent with Ms. Lucas."

"I'm not trying to sleep with her," Emma said.

"Then you have nothing to worry about," Regina looked away from Emma and tried to mask her deflated emotions.

"Hey," Emma started as she leaned forward and hooked her fingers under Regina's chin. She lifted Regina's head and made the brunette look at her before she continued. "If you don't want me to go-"

"I can't tell you what to do," Regina cut her off.

"What if you did? Would that be so horrible?"

"I'm Henry's mother, not yours."

Emma rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I'm saying. If you don't want me to go, I won't go."

"Why? What does that mean for us?"

"It means I respect your feelings and...maybe I don't want to hurt you anymore. I mean, I'll give you all the pain you want in the bedroom, but emotionally..."

Regina took a deep breath and released it in a heavy sigh.

"Are you asking for a relationship?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Emma shrugged with a frown.

Regina looked Emma over, her eyes scanned over every inch of the younger woman.

"Talk to me in the morning about it," Regina said as she pushed forward and started to finish taking off Emma's tights. "For now, I want to enjoy this."

Both women rid the other of their last articles of clothing. They kissed and bit and played with each other like all the tension and anger that resided between them never existed.

Emma rhythmically rode Regina's fingers as she felt her release build up. Just before she could let go, she grabbed Regina's waist and rolled them over so the brunette was on top.

Regina gasped as she fell on top of Emma, her fingers still inside the younger woman. She laughed after she put out a hand to keep herself from completely crushing Emma.

"I thought you would have enjoyed being on top," Regina teased.

"Oh, but you move so much better than me," Emma said as she slipped two fingers inside Regina.

Regina hummed and gradually grinned as she leaned in and worked on a hickey on Emma's neck. She sucked and bit as she started a new pace with her fingers inside Emma.

After a couple minutes, Regina hurriedly pushed off Emma and threw her head back. She moved with Emma, in Emma, and onto Emma's fingers. She felt so alive, so desired, so unbelievably appreciated.

Like Emma, Regina waited until she almost let go then rolled them both onto their sides before she could. She used her free hand to grip Emma's hip as she continued to pump in and out of Emma. She panted against Emma and felt Emma's breath against her face as well.

Emma and Regina had a playful competition going as they simultaneously moved in and out of each other. They touched each other in ways they had never touched anyone and in turn, had never been touched by anyone.

Emma felt more relaxed and more comfortable with herself and with Regina than she ever had in life, than she ever had with anybody in her life. When she let go, she gave every part of herself to Regina. She didn't even think about it as the brunette's name fell from her lips in a moan. She didn't even think about it when she stared straight into Regina's eyes throughout her release. She also didn't think about it when she brought Regina to her release.

Regina let go soon after Emma, but she only gave her best parts to Emma. She held the Evil Queen at bay and tried to be herself. To be just Regina. As much as she wanted to shelter Henry from knowing her as the Evil Queen, though he already believed it, she wanted to keep that part of herself from Emma as well. She didn't know why, but she had a good idea. That idea also kept her from kissing Emma when they finished. As cruel as it seemed, she couldn't face Emma after she her climax. She looked into emerald green eyes then quickly looked over a tempting body shadowed by the darkness in the room.

Emma frowned when she looked at Regina. She'd heard and seen the most incredible things during their time together and yet, when she tried to meet Regina's gaze the brunette avoided eye contact.

"Regina?"

Regina wiped her eyes from the tears that had started to fall. She pushed Emma away and got out of the guest bed.

"Regina, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer Emma, she only focused on picking up her clothes without sobbing. She slipped into her dress and only bothered to zip it up half way before she gathered her bra and panties.

"We'll talk in the morning, Miss Swan," Regina said as she wiped under her eyes again to ensure she cleared all the tears.

Regina quickly retreated to her own bedroom and left Emma alone and naked in the guest room.

Emma frowned and pulled out her phone. She typed out a message and sent it within a few seconds.

_"Is everything okay?"_

Regina heard her phone buzz as she got out of her dress a second time that night before she crawled into bed. She brushed her hair out of her face with her fingers then grabbed her phone. She read the text and took a deep breath before she came up with a reply.

_"Yes. See you in the morning."_

_"You want me to stay the night?"_

_"Unless you want to go back to that construction zone of an apartment."_

_"I'll see you in the morning. And Regina?"_

_"Miss Swan, I'm tired and I'd like to sleep."_

_"I just wanted to say you were amazing_ _tonight_ _."_

Regina placed a hand on her bare stomach as felt nausea overtake her, an overwhelming longing for the lightness Emma had to offer and the strange inability to take it. She never had a problem taking what she wanted, and she wanted Emma, but somehow she couldn't allow herself that.

_"Goodnight, Miss Swan."_

_"Goodnight, Regina."_

* * *

_Emma pushed Regina against the apple tree and had Ruby and Leroy tie her to it._

_Regina watched with fear as Emma wrapped her hand around her throat. The blonde tightened her grip and a tear fell from Regina's eye as she saw the anger and hurt in Emma's features._

_"Please, Emma," Regina softly said._

_"I_ trusted _you. I_ defended _you," Emma only got louder with each sentence. "Why did you do this? The curse?"_

_"I just wanted to win. For once," Regina responded as she tried to hold back sobs._

_"I knew you were the Evil Queen," Henry piped up from behind Emma._

_He stood in front of Mary Margaret and David, or rather Snow White and Prince Charming. Charming had a hand on Henry's shoulder while Snow soothingly rubbed his arm._

_"I'm sorry," Regina barely said above a whisper as she stared at Henry._

_She looked from her son to the only other person in the boring town she created she never wanted to hurt._

_"Emma," Regina started to beg._

_Emma let go of Regina's throat and cut off the brunette._

_"It was all a lie, wasn't it. Get the Savior to fall in love with the Evil Queen and you'll have everything you ever wanted."_

_Regina shook her head and Emma reached up and grabbed an apple from the tree._

_The apple was dark red, almost black. Emma held it in front of Regina's face and squeezed._

_"Rotten to the core," Emma growled as she maliciously stared into Regina's eyes._

_Black goo oozed out of the apple and covered Emma's hand. She threw the ruined apple to the ground and shook her hand to rid herself of as much goo as she could._

_Ruby and Leroy had joined the rest of the mob a few minutes earlier. When Emma stepped back to join the group of angry townspeople, she fell into step with Ruby. Using her clean hand, she laced her fingers with Ruby's and stood by Henry. He stood on one side of Emma while Ruby stood on the other._

_Regina's heart broke at the sight. Henry glared at Regina as if he absolutely loathed her and Emma had clearly moved on, though she still seemed utterly broken._

_"I didn't want this," Regina insisted. "You don't deserve this. Both of you."_

_Regina looked from Emma to Henry, sincerity in her eyes._

_Charming unsheathed his sword and handed it to Emma, his eyes furiously narrowed on Regina._

_Emma let go of Ruby's hand to take the sword and kissed the waitress on the cheek. She stepped away from Ruby and Henry and toward Regina._

_"Emma, please don't do this. Let me explain.”_

_"There's nothing to explain,_ Your Majesty _."_

_Emma raised the sword._

_Regina couldn't stop the tears that poured out of her. She looked at Henry as he stood tall and let it all happen. She hit her head against the tree bark in defeat and her eyes locked on Emma's._

_Emma threw the sword and Regina gasped. Suddenly, she saw the person she had become. She saw what being the Evil Queen had given her and what it had cost her. Somehow, they were one in the same._

A gut wrenching yell followed by intense crying that escaped Regina. She woke up in deep, emotional pain and the last time she ever remembered feeling that way was when she had lost Daniel.

Emma woke up to loud, pained cries. She looked around the guest room startled and confused before the crying continued. She recognized the voice and shot out of bed. She scooped up her clothes and slipped on her panties before she threw on her shirt. She didn't bother with her bra or skirt or even her tights before she headed down the hall toward Regina's room.

On the way down the hall, Henry sleepily peeked out of his bedroom.

"Emma?

He rubbed his eyes to clear the haziness from his vision and took a second look at the figure passing through the hallway.

"Hey, kid. Go back to sleep. It's a school night," Emma whispered.

"But...what are you still doing here?”

"I was too tired to go home and your mom let me stay in the guest room," Emma quickly answered. "Go back to bed."

"What about Mom?"

"I'll take care of it, okay?"

"Really? Why would you do that?"

"Because it's not your job to take care of her," Emma said as she knelt before Henry.

"It's not yours either," he casually said as he stared quizzically at her.

"She needs someone and out of the two of u,s I'm the only adult. No kid should ever have to pick up the pieces so whatever's wrong with your mom, let me fix it. Okay, Henry?"

After a moment, Henry nodded and turned back to his room.

"Goodnight, Henry.”

"Night, Emma," Henry grumbled.

Emma smiled as she noticed Henry didn't shut his door on the way back to bed. She reached out and closed it for him before she finished the short trip to Regina's room.

She softly knocked on the door.

"Regina?"

Emma slowly opened the door and stepped inside. She closed the door behind herself and stared at Regina as the brunette sniffled and attempted to turn away from Emma.

"Go away, Miss Swan," Regina groggily said.

"Not a chance," Emma said as she walked over to Regina's bed.

Regina felt the bed dip behind her and took a ragged breath.

"I don't want anything from you," Regina almost yelled as she struggled to say something she knew was a lie.

"Shh," Emma tried to calm Regina as she ran a hand through brunette hair. "Quit being so stubborn and just let this happen."

A silence fell over them as Emma draped an arm over Regina's waist. She gently pulled Regina closer to her.

After a moment, Regina rolled onto her back and looked at Emma.

"I don't want you to have breakfast with Ms. Lucas," Regina quietly said, though Emma still heard it.

"Okay," Emma said as she caressed Regina's cheek. "I won't have breakfast with her."

Regina slowly started to smile as more tears streamed down her face.

"I'm yours, remember," Emma asked as she recognized the happy surprise on Regina's face.

"Mine," Regina said as she reached out and ran her thumb over Emma's bottom lip.

Emma smiled and took Regina's hand. She kissed Regina's palm then rolled on top of the brunette.

"I love it when you smile," Emma admitted.

"I love it when you listen to me," Regina confessed in return.

"What do you need," Emma asked as she rested her head on Regina's chest.

"You. ...Let me hold you?"

Emma kissed Regina's chest over the brunette's heart then lifted her head to make eye contact.

"As long as I can still have breakfast at Granny's. Just not exclusively with Ruby and at my normal time before work."

"...Only if you keep your hands and lips to yourself."

"Not a problem," Emma smirked as she rolled onto her right side and allowed Regina to drape an arm over her waist.

Regina snuggled up to Emma and kissed just under her earlobe.

They didn't speak after that.

Regina held Emma tight, afraid to let her go or afraid Emma might slip away. She cuddled up against Emma and let all her nightmares, all her past wrongs, fade away. Her hand slid down to the gauze on Emma's thigh and she continued to hold the blonde.

Emma contentedly sighed as she felt Regina's hand on her thigh. She found Regina's hand and laced their fingers over the gauze. She remained in Regina's arms as the two of them fell asleep together.

 


	22. Chapter 22

Regina slid on black lace panties at the foot of the bed. She stared at Emma as the blonde continued to sleep, her curls disheveled and disarrayed on the pillow. She kept her expression unreadable as she looked at the other woman, but stared hard enough at Emma to commit the sight of her in the morning to memory.

As Regina crouched down and bent forward to grab her bra off the floor, Emma took a deep breath and released it in a hum. Regina stood up with the bra in her hand and watched Emma roll toward the empty side of the queen sized bed. When Emma frowned and opened her eyes, Regina figured Emma must have realized it was empty.

“Regina?”

“I'm here,” Regina replied.

Emma propped herself up on her elbows and smiled at the brunette.

“Morning,” Emma greeted as she scanned over Regina's choice of wardrobe.

Regina looked down at her own appearance, still bra-less, and rolled her eyes before she met Emma's gaze again.

“If I assume your morning is an extremely good one...” Regina trailed off and didn't bother to finish her sentence.

“You would be correct,” Emma smugly answered.

Regina tried to restrain her smile and failed miserably, though Emma's laughter in response to her expression kept Regina from feeling miserable.

Emma looked at the nightstand and checked Regina's alarm clock.

“Shit,” Emma said. “It's 6:30!”

“It is,” Regina flatly stated.

“In the morning?! The sun isn't even out.”

“Too early for you, dear?”

Emma thought about it and waited a moment before she spoke.

“Maybe that's a good thing.”

“And how is that,” Regina asked.

“Well,” Emma started with a hungry grin and a lustful gleam in her eyes as she pushed herself into a complete sitting position. “Henry doesn't have school today, right?”

“It is Saturday, so no. But he has to be up in forty-five minutes anyway. I take him to work with me on Saturdays.”

Emma laughed, but maintained the lustful gleam.

“Fine. There's still plenty of time for us to-”

“Shower and make breakfast,” Regina cut Emma off. “And those will not be a joint effort.”

“Tell the kid to eat cereal. That should give us an extra ten minutes and you can use that to shower.”

“Do you always wake up this turned on?”

“I have two reasons to be this turned on and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to wake up to them more often.”

Regina sighed.

“He doesn't really talk to me at work and even if he tried to, I'd be busy,” Regina admitted. “He won't spend any other time with me. Breakfast, and other meal we can share, is the only time we really get to spend together.”

“Then come out with us tonight. After work,” Emma suggested. “We can hang out at the park or something where no one can see us if that's what you want. Just you, me, and Henry.”

“Who said I wanted to spend more time with you?”

“Again,” Emma started as she leaned forward and crawled on her hands and knees to the foot of the bed. “There are two reasons. They'll prove that's what you want.”

Emma reached out with hand and wrapped an arm around Regina's hips. She pulled Regina closer to the bed and gave each of the brunette's nipples a wet kiss.

Regina kept her hands at her sides but closed her eyes at the feel of Emma's mouth on her breasts. The kisses didn't last long, but for both of them Regina arched her back to press her nipples further into Emma's mouth.

Emma pulled away from Regina and met her gaze with a dark, ravenous gleam.

“What do you say,” Emma asked. “Henry gets cereal, you let him walk to the bus stop, and we get about half an hour to fool around.”

Regina hesitated as she considered it.

“Twenty minutes,” Regina corrected. “The other ten minutes will be for shared bathing.”

Emma grinned.

“Does that plan include this girl getting fed breakfast like a normal human being and not like some family pet in shame,” Emma asked as her eyes glittered with hope.

“How would we explain your presence to Henry?”

“Um, don't get mad,” Emma started as her grin quickly disappeared.

Regina didn't like the sound of that sentence. She crossed her arms over her stomach and listened.

“Henry already knows I stayed the night.”

“And how does he know that?!”

“You were yelling last night in your sleep and it didn't just wake me up.”

Regina frowned and looked down at the floor beneath her feet.

“What did you tell him,” Regina asked as she refused to look at Emma.

“That I would take care of you,” Emma answered without pause.

Regina's head snapped up and she stared straight into familiar green eyes.

“So,” Emma started again as she smiled and hooked a finger in Regina's panties to pull Regina close again. “Will you let me take care of you?”

Regina opened her mouth to come back with, “You already have,” but quickly closed her mouth with better judgment and slowly, tensely smiled instead.

She nodded and tucked blonde hair behind Emma's ear. She leaned in to peck Emma's cheek, but the Sheriff got smart and turned her head at the last second.

Though she didn't want to kiss Emma, she couldn't help but smirk at Emma's move. She had once done the same thing to her when the other woman went in for a kiss and Regina turned it into a bite.

“Clever girl,” Regina said as she pulled away from Emma and slowly opened her eyes to look at her.

“Nothing I didn't learn from you,” Emma purred.

“There's a lot you've learned from me and still haveto learn from me.”

“Oh, don't think I don't have a few tricks of my own,” Emma defended herself as she got off the bed and stood only inches away from Regina.

“Like what,” Regina haughtily chuckled.

“I was hoping you'd ask,” Emma said with a wide grin then grabbed Regina by the waist.

A moment of panic rushed through Regina before Emma lifted her off the floor and spun her around. Her panic turned to surprise as Emma tossed her onto the bed and straddled her.

Emma continued to grin. She even laughed as she threw Regina onto her back.

Regina gave a tiny laugh herself on impact and watched Emma settle on top of her.

Emma started to lean in, but Regina stopped her with a pointed finger.

“Twenty minutes,” Regina warned.

“Yes,  _ Madam Mayor _ ,” Emma saluted with feigned submission.

Emma leaned in again, that time without hindrance, and trapped Regina's bottom lip between her own lips. She sucked then nipped at it before she released Regina's lip and focused her attention on the brunette's neck.

Regina appreciatively hummed and turned her head to the side to give Emma more access to her neck. She lifted her right leg and her thigh made contact with Emma's center.

Emma moaned against Regina's neck as she sucked and bit at tan skin. She bit harder as Regina continued to move her thigh and created friction between it and Emma's center. After Emma convinced herself she'd made a mark or two, she pulled away and stared down at Regina. When she had the other woman's attention, she sat back and crushed Regina's leg between her weight. She forced Regina's leg flat against the bed and tried not to wince as she stretched her quads too far and threatened to reopen the R-shaped gash on her left thigh.

Regina grabbed the hem of Emma's shirt and pulled the blonde back toward her.

“I like this look on you,” Regina purred as she tightened her fist around Emma's shirt and kissed her neck.

Emma swept her hair over her other shoulder to give Regina more skin to kiss and ran her panty covered sex against Regina. Their panties brushed against each other as she moved and Emma felt a mixture of slickness between her legs. She knew she wasn't the only one wet in that moment.

“A few more sleepovers like this and you'll see me wear a few combinations like this every time,” Emma breathed out with a smirk.

Regina throatily chuckled as Emma pulled away to look at her.

“Are you trying to have that conversation? Now?”

Emma's smirk widened.

“Don't I have the best timing,” Emma rhetorically asked. “Sometimes I think the only time you listen is during sex.”

Regina arched her back and lifted her hips to meet Emma's center with her own, full force.

Emma closed her eyes and moaned at the contact.

Regina grinned.

“Don't mistake me listening to your _body_ for me listening to _you_ ,” Regina confidently corrected.

Emma opened her eyes and immediately looked into the darkened chocolate brown eyes.

“Eager to please, are we, Madam Mayor?”

Regina grinned and stared up at Emma with a dark, preemptively victorious gleam in her eyes that was all Evil Queen, though Emma didn't know it. She slid her hand into Emma's panties and slowly traced a single circle over Emma's clit.

Emma gasped and lurched toward the headboard. She moved forward and pushed down on Regina's hand for a stronger touch.

“I still want to talk,” Emma said just before she opened her eyes and looked at Regina again.

“Right this second,” Regina asked as she slid her fingers down to Emma's opening and slipped inside the younger woman. She replaced her fingers on Emma's clit with the pad of her thumb.

Emma hummed, which quickly turned into an elongated moan.

“Need I remind you that Henry's still asleep, dear? You have to be quiet.”

Emma closed her mouth and met Regina's gaze with a challenging look. She leveled the playing field with her own hand in Regina's panties. She teasingly swiped a single finger over Regina's clit then matched the brunette's hand placement, two fingers inside the mayor and her thumb on the woman's clit.

Regina emitted a short, though somewhat loud, moan that sounded more like a satisfied yelp.

“Now who needs to be quiet,” Emma grinned.

Regina chuckled.

“You dare challenge me,” Regina asked with a small smirk.

“Always,” Emma continued to grin.

“In that case,” Regina started.

Before the brunette finished her sentence, she placed her free hand on Emma's waist and used it along with the rest of her body to flip the sheriff onto her back.

“Bring it on,” Regina slowly purred as she slid further onto Emma's fingers then started a rhythm as she sensually rode them.

“As much as I'm yours,” Emma breathlessly started as she watched Regina rock against her. “You are _mine_.”

“Is that what you think?”

Emma curled her fingers inside Regina on the next inward thrust.

Regina parted her lips in a silent moan voiced only by a shuddered exhale.

“Yeah, and I can prove it,” Emma said.

“I'd like to see you try.”

Regina looked over at her alarm clock then looked back down at Emma, still moving at the same pace against Emma.

“You've got fifteen minutes now,” Regina informed her.

“That's all I need...for now.”

Just as Emma finished her sentence, she flipped them over again and reasserted her dominance in her previous position on top of Regina. She looked straight into Regina's eyes for a moment before she leaned in and placed a wet kiss on Regina's neck then another. And another.

Regina pressed her head into the pillow and extended her neck for Emma to access more skin. She quietly hummed in appreciation, the loudest sound out of her mouth came from the vibration in her throat that was felt more than anything.

Emma licked from the crook of Regina's neck up to the brunette's ear then nipped the spot just below it. She sped up her pace the smallest bit and circled the pad of her thumb over Regina's clit.

Regina moaned and hastened her pace to match Emma's. She closed her mouth in an attempt to muffle the sound of her pleasure.

Emma kissed her way down to Regina's chest and smothered one of the woman's nipples. She sucked on it with not only hunger but commitment to their challenge. The harder she sucked, the more she could feel Regina's nipple harden.

Regina reached around Emma's back and dragged her nails from the blonde's shoulders to the small of her back.

Emma whimpered and nipped at Regina's nipple as encouragement. She pushed down harder on Regina's fingers and balled a fist around the sheets under Regina.

Regina raked her nails back up to Emma's shoulder blades.

“Harder,” Regina husked out.

Emma bit down harder on the other woman's nipple and thrust into her with more force.

Regina arched her back as she let out a scream of pleasure.

The sound caused Emma to moan then instantly let go of the sheets and placed it over Regina's mouth.

Both women clenched around the other one's fingers in that moment as they each felt their releases build.

Regina dug her nails further into Emma's back and watched the woman roll her hips above her. A muffled moan fell past parted lips under Emma's hand. She retracted her claws and used that hand to spank the blonde.

Emma yelped and licked before she sucked Regina's nipple in response.

Regina whimpered and spanked again, harder.

Emma yelped again and moved up Regina's body. She kept her hand over Regina's mouth as she turned the brunette's head and bit down on her pulse point with no preamble. She pushed even harder and faster into Regina until Regina cried out under her hand.

Emma pressed down on Regina's clit as she traced circles over it at a rapid pace then slowed her movements in and out of the woman.

“Tell me how much you like it,” Emma purred.

Regina licked Emma's palm then bit it.

Emma ripped her hand away from Regina's mouth.

“Emma,” Regina immediately breathed out when the hand disappeared.

Regina started to pant and her chest heaved. She slowed her pace to once again match Emma's.

Emma abruptly stopped inside Regina and caused the other woman to groan.

“Admit it,” Emma demanded with a grin.

“Not a chance,” Regina said between a growl and a purr.

Emma throatily chuckled and leaned in. She trapped Regina's bottom lip between her own lips and sucked hard before she bit down.

Regina tried to move her hips to feel Emma's fingers slide in and out of herself again. She groaned as she struggled to get Emma's fingers where she wanted them, where she needed them.

“Admit it and I'll give you what you want,” Emma made her an offer.

“Work for it,” Regina hurried the words out of her mouth.

“I am.”

“Then work harder.”

“If you admit it, I'll prove you made the right choice in doing it.”

“No.”

Emma's mouth cracked open and formed a wicked grin.

“Fine. I'll work for it.”

Emma resumed her slow, sensual pace. She never took her eyes off Regina as she matched the pace with her fingers to her own pace riding Regina's fingers.

Regina watched Emma move, something she liked to see but would only ever confess to once and that was already more than she really cared to do.

Emma then slid onto Regina's fingers at a much faster pace than she herself slipped her fingers in and out of the other woman. She rolled her hips, much like Regina would – though she still felt she didn't do it as well as the brunette – and stared deep into brown eyes as she did. She corkscrewed her fingers inside Regina once, twice, even a third time as she alternated between light and hard touches to the woman's clit as she continued to trace circles.

Regina gulped several times to keep her moans and other sounds of pleasure buried in the pit of her stomach. She fought the urge to squeeze her eyes shut, but when she stared up into happy and satisfied green eyes, she averted her gaze. She threw an arm over her eyes and shielded her face from Emma with her forearm as she let go. It wasn't like a Queen, or even a Mayor, but she refused to be seen as she gave herself to Emma yet again.

“And I'm not even done yet,” Emma arrogantly said.

Regina could hear the grin she figured Emma wore across her face from the blonde's voice alone. Though Emma seemed overly sure of herself and her ability to thoroughly please Regina, the brunette knew Emma had only said it to tease her. All she wanted to do was prove she could still beat Regina at one thing if nothing else.

Regina, still out of it as she remained in her sexual high, carelessly flung her arm to her side on the bed. Just as she opened her eyes while she visibly panted under Emma, she couldn't even focus on the younger woman's form before she felt a new wave of pleasure start from between her legs as her fingers, the ones that had been inside Emma, felt a rush of cold from no longer being inside the younger woman.

Emma ran the flat of her tongue through Regina's folds and collected the telltale signs of the other woman's release. When she reached Regina's clit, she curled her tongue so only the tip of it touched the sensitive bundle of nerves. She flicked her tongue back and forth over it as she teasingly swiped at it like a lollipop.

Regina squirmed under Emma and rolled her hips in the woman's direction. She emitted a shuddered moan as her abdomen tensed without permission.

Emma pulled her tongue away from Regina's center and lifted up only far enough to look at Regina.

Regina pulled herself into a slight sitting position, only far enough to meet Emma's gaze. The two of them locked eyes for a long moment.

“If I get you to admit you're mine, I'm gonna take that to mean we can be exclusive,” Emma said.

“And what if I don't?”

“You will,” Emma smirked.

“But if I don't,” Regina repeated her question with more force.

Emma rolled her eyes as her smirk turned into a smile.

“Then nothing changes.”

Regina forced a throaty chuckle as she tried to maintain the upper hand.

“I wouldn't hold your breath, dear. There's not a thing you can do to make me say it. I belong to no one. But  _ you _ , my dear, belong to me.”

Emma's mouth curled upward into a large grin. She lowered back down to Regina's clit and pressed the flat of her tongue against it. She kept her tongue in place and didn't move an inch. She heard a strangled moan from Regina as the woman swept a leg over one of her shoulders.

Regina pressed the heel of her foot into Emma's back and dug it against one of the marks she'd made with her nails in an attempt to get Emma to move.

Emma trapped Regina's clit between her lips then licked and nipped it.

Another strangled moan, louder than the first.

Emma ran her tongue down to Regina's opening. She briefly slipped it inside, but quickly removed it.

Regina clawed at the sheets, her fists clutched tightly against them as her knuckles started to turn white from the grip. She stuck her other foot under Emma and used it to play with one of Emma's breasts. The side of her foot caressed Emma's right breast then she used her toes to lightly circle around Emma's nipple.

Emma moaned against Regina's center and darted her tongue inside her. She thrust inward as deep as she could go and swirled her tongue around a few times. She started to move in and out at the same sensual pace from earlier and used her hands to massage Regina's inner thighs.

Regina felt the pads of Emma's thumbs rub circles against her skin, close to her center, as Emma buried her tongue inside her. She placed her foot between Emma's breasts and slid it down Emma's stomach. She applied more force the closer she got to Emma's hips and when she felt Emma speed up her pace, she unintentionally kicked the blonde's right hipbone.

Emma winced but maintained her pace for a few more thrusts before she redirected her oral attention to Regina's clit once again. She fluidly slid three fingers into Regina as the tip of her tongue reached Regina's clit and kept the same pace. She slowly flicked her tongue over Regina's clit, up and down. Up and down.

Regina panted, the sound of her breath heavy before she spoke.

“Em-ma,” Regina breathlessly moaned.

Emma smiled against Regina and purposely moaned for a few moments.

Regina felt the vibration of Emma's moan on her clit. She bit her bottom lip and felt another orgasm approach. She wrapped her right leg around Emma's back and tucked her left knee under Emma's arm.

Emma gently bit Regina's clit before she sucked hard on it as she curled then corkscrewed her fingers inside the woman.

Regina squeezed Emma and trapped the blonde's head between her legs in a chokehold performed by her legs. With every ounce of her being she felt the truth tumble out of her mouth in the next few seconds.

“I'm... _ yours _ ,” Regina moaned, almost screamed out, as she came and pressed the ball of her left foot into Emma's hipbone.

Emma triumphantly moaned at the confession and kept her fingers completely still inside the other woman. She licked the evidence of their time together clean from Regina's center and lapped up the woman's wetness with ease.

Regina sunk into the bed and released her hold on Emma as she relaxed her legs.

 _Everything changes_ , Regina thought as her eyes slipped closed.

Emma smiled as she slithered up Regina's body. She leaned in and kissed the corner of the other woman's mouth.

Regina tasted herself on Emma's lips then on Emma's tongue as the blonde forced her to part her lips.

Emma glided her tongue over Regina's as she started to press her lips to the other woman's.

Regina did as she'd done before and turned the kiss into a bite as she started to come down from her high. She opened her eyes and pushed Emma away, her hands on the Sheriff's shoulders.

“Oh, come on,” Emma said as she still hovered above Regina. “We're in a relationship now. You should be able to kiss me.”

Regina turned her head when Emma leaned in for a second attempt.

Emma's lips connected with Regina's cheek and she frowned.

“Not yet,” Regina said as Emma pulled away.

“Are you ever going to kiss me again,” Emma asked as she sat up and straddled Regina once more.

Regina kept quiet for a moment as she stared into green eyes. She knew the truth, or what she believed was the unfortunate truth, and she couldn't risk it. But even though she couldn't risk it, wouldn't risk it, she didn't want to lie to Emma. She didn't want to lie for the same reason she wouldn't kiss Emma. A reason she refused to voice both in her head and out loud.

“Maybe some day,” Regina said. “I won't deserve it, but I hope one day I'll be able to kiss you again.”

Emma quizzically stared at her.

“Maybe? Deserve? Be able to,” Emma asked as she repeated a select few of Regina's words.

“You don't understand and you can't possibly understand, but you may understand soon. Look, we can be more than physical if you'd like, but this is my one condition. Actually, one of three conditions.”

“Okay. What are they?”

“First and foremost, Henry can't know about us. It's too soon. Second, we can't be seen in public together, especially not displaying such affection brought on by touching. And third, no kissing. Not on the lips.”

Emma looked disappointed. Her frown hadn't vanished since Regina professed her hope to kiss her again some day.

It made Regina feel guilty since she'd caused that unhappy look and dare she say, dare she _think_ , it broke her heart as well.

Emma noticeably took a deep breath and relaxed.

“Okay,” she agreed.

Regina seemed taken aback, surprised Emma would actually agree.

“Really?”

Emma smiled as a light laugh escaped her.

“Yeah,” Emma confirmed. “But I think I'm entitled to a few conditions of my own.”

“Of course.”

“One, don't insinuate or call me a whore. Two, don't do anything else to hurt my thigh and just let it heal. And three, we still take lunch breaks together even after you don't have to clean the apartment.”

“Well...aren't you easy to satisfy and impress,” Regina rhetorically asked.

“If you just called me a whore again-”

“No,” Regina interrupted with a smile. “I just meant that I don't have a problem with any of your conditions. I really thought I would.”

“Mm, Emma Swan knows how to surprise her girlfriend,” Emma grinned as she leaned in and kissed Regina's bruised collarbone.

“Girlfriend,” Regina incredulously asked as she warmly smiled.

“Mhmm,” Emma hummed as she started to kiss every inch of Regina's chest.

“I don't think I want that title.”

“Please,” Emma talked between kisses. “ _Anyone_ would be lucky to be called my girlfriend.”

Regina throatily chuckled as she lazily placed a hand in blonde tresses.

“ _You_ should consider yourself lucky _if_ I decide to call you _my_ girlfriend.”

Emma kissed between Regina's breasts and began to alternate between licking, sucking, and kissing the same spot over and over again.

Regina turned to her nightstand and checked the time.

“Seven minutes,” she announced. “We don't have time for another round.”

Emma pulled away and moved up Regina's body again.

“Actually, there's plenty I can do in seven minutes,” Emma replied. “But I think I'd rather add seven minutes to our shower and _you_ can do things to _me_.”

Regina smirked and sat up.

“It would be my pleasure,” Regina purred.

* * *

Pushed against the shower wall, Emma grunted then moaned upon impact. She felt the glass wall behind her as she was pinned to it, but it was nothing compared to where she felt Regina's mouth.

Regina's lips seemed everywhere at once as they traveled over Emma's slick skin all the while water trickled down from the shower head. She kissed her way down Emma's front and only stopped at the woman's navel to add to the fun. She dipped her tongue inside it and flicked the top half before she pinched a small portion of Emma's navel between her teeth.

“Unh,” Emma breathed out.

Regina grinned before she released Emma's skin and continued further south.

She nipped at Emma's pelvic bone before she brought her lips to the Sheriff's clit. She sucked on the bundle of nerves and felt Emma's leg start to slip on the wet floor as she opened up for her.

Regina carefully lifted Emma’s injured leg over her shoulder and kept a hand on her thigh above the “R” to hold the blonde steady. She rubbed circles with her thumb over the underside of Emma's thigh and went from sucking to nipping the woman's clit.

Emma moaned and thew her head back against the shower wall. She started to rock her hips and push into Regina's mouth.

Regina chuckled against Emma's center and smirked as she made the decision to retaliate against the woman for spelling “Emma” with her tongue. Between bites, she darted her tongue out and started to form letters against Emma's clit.

R.

Emma closed a fist around drenched brunette hair and forced Regina to stay pressed against her. She whimpered as Regina flicked her tongue around to make another letter.

e.

Regina slid her left hand closer to Emma's sex and teased the Sheriff's opening with the pad of her middle finger.

g.

Emma didn't contain the long, loud moan that erupted from the back of her throat.

i.

Regina added the pad of her index finger to help tease Emma's opening a few seconds before she thrust them both inside the woman.

n.

Emma emitted a cross between a scream and another moan.

Regina initially slid in and out of Emma at a calm, not at all rushed pace, but as she swirled her tongue to make the last letter, she sped up her pace.

a.

Emma rocked her hips in time to Regina's pace.

Regina made sure Emma felt her mouth on the younger woman's clit.

Bite.

Regina curled her fingers then spun them like a corkscrew.

Lick.

Emma gasped as she tightened around Regina's fingers.

Suck.

Regina moaned against Emma and sent vibrations through the younger woman's center.

Flick. Lick. Swirl.

Emma bit her bottom lip and held onto Regina's hair with more force.

Bite. Suck.

Regina felt Emma clench around her fingers as she moved in and out of the woman. She curled her lips into a smile as she reveled in the physical implication of being wanted and needed.

Pull. Nip.

Emma couldn't hold on much longer.

Regina curled her fingers on the next inward thrust.

Suck. Flick.

“Regina,” Emma breathlessly moaned as she came into Regina's mouth.

Regina lapped up every last bit of Emma and the water from the shower that dripped down the Sheriff's body. She scrunched up her face as she tried not to choke with the overwhelming amount of combined liquids.

Emma panted as she eased up her hold on Regina's hair and slowly came down from her sexual high.

Regina delved her tongue inside Emma and feverishly licked up every last drop. She moved away from Emma as the blonde let go of her hair completely. She immediately tried to catch her breath and when Emma let go of her hair, it fell in her face.

Regina pushed her hair out of the way with one hand and eased Emma's leg off her shoulder with the other. Her chest heaved as she slowly got to her feet.

Emma rested her head against the wall with her eyes closed. She took a few shallow breaths before she opened her eyes and locked them with Regina's.

“Taking tricks out of my playbook, Madam Mayor,” Emma smugly asked, still a bit breathless herself.

Regina licked her lips before they curled upward into a smirk.

“I figured it would only be fair to repay the favor,” Regina replied. “Now wash up while I go start breakfast. My son is _not_ having cereal.”

Regina turned and stepped toward the shower door. After the first step, she felt Emma grab her wrist and stop her.

Emma spun her back around and made the brunette face her. She grinned as she pulled Regina flush against her and gravitated toward the woman's neck. She took her time as she faintly pressed her lips to wet, olive skin.

“What are you making for dinner tonight,” Emma asked with a thick tone, rich with lust.

Emma nibbled on Regina's pulse point.

“Mm. I was thinking of making tacos. Henry likes adding all the food into the hard shell.”

“I don't want tacos,” Emma said before she moved to the other side of Regina's neck.

Emma kissed her way down from below Regina's earlobe to the crook of the brunette's neck.

“That's a shame for you, dear,” Regina started with a smirk as she subtly reveled in Emma's kisses. “But since when do you have a say in anything I make for dinner?”

“Since you're setting a third plate for me tonight.”

“Am I.”

It wasn't a question.

“Yes,” Emma answered as she started to suck at Regina's skin and slid a hand up the other woman's slick, taut stomach until she cupped Regina's breast.

“We don't have time for this, Miss Swan,” Regina said as she tried not to give in to the blonde's desired touch.

“I'll take Henry home, no snacks or dinner in between, and you can make that lasagna you almost let me cook a week ago.”

“If I agree to this, will you let me start breakfast before you get me too turned on?”

Emma chuckled with a wicked grin as she rubbed a circle with her thumb over Regina's nipple. She squeezed Regina's breast with the rest of her fingers.

“That,” Emma started. “And if you come over to my apartment for a strip tease and a lap dance today for lunch.”

“Haven't you pleased me enough for one day?”

“We both know your body is extremely demanding,” Emma purred. “And even when you're satisfied, it doesn't last long.”

Emma let her free hand wander and slipped a single finger inside Regina.

Regina gasped at the pleasant intrusion and shuffled her feet further apart to spread her legs.

Emma slowly pushed her middle finger deeper inside Regina and only stopped when she'd gone as far as she could. She kept her finger still and stared straight into brown eyes.

“I could please you all day,” Emma spoke again. “But the strip tease and lap dance are for me. Do that for me and you don't have to clean the apartment today, your last day of cleaning I might remind you.”

Emma, just as slowly as she pushed in, pulled her finger almost completely out of Regina before she moved in to the woman again. She brought her mouth to Regina's neglected nipple and flicked it with the tip of her tongue.

Regina moaned and her breathing became erratic again.

“Yes,” Regina breathed out. “Okay. I'll do it.”

Emma beamed as she locked eyes with Regina again.

“You have no idea how much I want to make you squirm right now,” Emma breathed into Regina's ear.

Regina shot out her hands and placed them on Emma's waist to brace herself.

Emma added a finger and kept the same sensual pace.

Regina pulled Emma close and raised a leg to the blonde's hip.

Emma slammed Regina against the glass wall as she slid forcefully into the other woman.

Regina grunted upon impact. She slung an arm over Emma's shoulder and quickly repeated the action with her other arm.

Emma felt the shift and caught on to Regina's intention seconds before the brunette hopped into her arms.

Regina wrapped both of her legs around Emma's waist.

Emma's leg desperately wanted to give out. Her injured thigh couldn't handle the extra weight, not that Regina was all that heavy.

“We're running out of time,” Regina reminded Emma.

“If we stopped now, would you be frustrated all day,” Emma asked.

“Probably,” Regina truthfully answered.

Emma pinned Regina against the wall again and placed a hand next to the brunette on the glass as she tried not to drop the woman.

“But doing this the fast way wouldn't help much either and you clearly can't hold me much longer.”

Emma frowned.

“I wish I could,” Emma confessed. “But if you make the lasagna and let me stay the night, I'll make this up to you.”

Regina smiled.

“Is that a promise,” Regina asked.

“Yeah. And I've made a promise to you before so you know I keep them.”

“Yes, well, you better keep this one, Miss Swan. We both know how 'extremely demanding' my body is. It'd be a tragedy if you were unable to meet those demands after we agreed to a relationship.”

“Madam Mayor,” Emma started as she feigned shock. “Are you saying that my skills in the bedroom are a deal breaker for this relationship?”

“Yes,” Regina continued to play along. “If you can't sate my hunger, what use do I have for you?”

Emma rolled her eyes with a smile.

“Of course,” Emma agreed to go along with it. “Well...”

Emma trailed off as she took the time to remove her fingers from Regina and let the brunette down.

“I can assure you I'll make you and your body sing like a gospel choir by the end of the night,” Emma continued once both of Regina's feet where firmly planted on the ground. “Now make me breakfast, woman.”

Regina grabbed both of Emma's arms and pushed the blonde back against the opposite wall in the blink of an eye. She crashed her lips onto Emma's bruised collarbone, the one she made match her own bruises that the younger woman had given her. She sucked on the tender area before she bit at it then pulled at the skin with her teeth.

Emma gurgled out a groan as she squeezed her eyes shut. She closed a fist around Regina's hair and yanked the brunette's head upward.

Regina didn't let go of Emma's skin even as the younger woman tugged at her hair. She opened her eyes and stared up at the woman. She grinned as she took in the sight of Emma with her eyes tightly shut, the rest of her body tense except for the one part of her that told Regina as much as it hurt, Emma still found pleasure in the act.

Regina eased up on Emma's collarbone and licked the re-marked skin. She tasted copper as she slithered up Emma's body then stuck out her tongue for Emma to taste.

Emma locked eyes with Regina for a moment before her gaze fell to the woman's extended tongue that held a red streak near the tip. She leaned in and trapped Regina's tongue between her lips then sucked the blood from it. Her blood.

Both women simultaneously relaxed their eyes shut and moaned at the sensation.

After a moment, when Emma made no move to detach from the other woman's tongue, Regina curled her tongue and slipped it out of Emma's mouth. She reclaimed it as her own and lowered her mouth to the freshly made bite mark on Emma's collarbone that she left bleeding. She lapped up most of the blood and kept it to herself that time before she pressed her lips to the mark in a chaste kiss.

“See you at breakfast,” Regina said as she stepped away from Emma.

Emma watched Regina back her way out of the shower with a devious grin plastered on her face. Her eyes wandered as she took in the rest of Regina's flawless body.

“ _Don't_ finish yourself off,” Regina warned before she closed the shower door, her on the outside of it while Emma remained on the inside.

* * *

“You're still here,” Henry smiled as he watched Emma walk into the kitchen wearing the same outfit from the previous day.

Regina looked up from the plate she held as she pushed scrambled eggs onto a plate for Henry and flashed a brief, small smile at the blonde.

Emma caught the smile and almost lit up at the sight.

“Yeah, I'm still here,” Emma replied as she looked from Regina to Henry. “I hope you don't mind me intruding on your breakfast.”

“You're not intruding,” Henry said.

“Bacon, Miss Swan,” Regina asked as she grabbed a different plate and held it out to Henry.

Henry grabbed two pieces of bacon and took a bite of one before he dropped them onto his plate.

Regina extended the plate to Emma and watched the blonde with wrapped attention that went unnoticed by the other two people in the room.

“I remember hearing crying last night and when I got up to check on my mom, you told me you'd take care of it.”

Emma took a bacon strip off the plate and locked eyes with Regina. The two of them stared at each other with an intensity matched by nothing Emma had ever felt.

_You're going to hurt her,_ Regina thought as her gaze held strong. 

Regina gulped at the truth of her realization then blinked to break eye contact. She turned to Henry and smiled.

Emma frowned.

“So...you stayed over night,” Henry asked before he chewed on the rest of the bacon he started to eat.

Emma distracted herself from whatever small moment had just happened between her and Regina. She focused her attention on Henry, much like Regina had earlier.

“Yeah, it was late when everything settled down so your mom suggested I stay. That's not a problem, is it?”

Henry took a sip of his orange juice and licked his lips clean of any remnants as he looked between Emma and Regina.

“No, it's just...weird.”

Henry focused on Regina and eyed her curiously as though he were sizing her up.

Regina felt scrutinized. By her own son. She cleared her throat and prepared herself a plate complete with toast, eggs, and a single bacon strip. She took a sip of her own glass of orange juice and headed to the dining room with her plate.

“Eat at the table, please,” Regina casually threw over her shoulder.

She pretended like having Emma over meant nothing, or at least that it wasn't something Henry needed to focus on like he had.

Emma and Henry shared a look as they both silently seemed to say they should have known an order was coming.

Henry grabbed his plate and his juice and went over to the table.

Emma smiled with a silent laugh as she watched him take a seat in the other room. She shook her head as her smile faded and she served herself a plate. After taking four pieces of toast, three spatula scoops of eggs, and three more strips of bacon in addition to the one she'd already started to snack on, she poured herself a glass of orange juice. She left the carton of juice on the counter where Regina had left it before going into the dining room then took her own food to the table.

Upon joining Henry and Regina, Emma got situated in the same seat she found herself in the last couple of times she sat at the table.

_I'm dating Regina Mills, mother of my kid, and now I'm having morning after breakfast with her. ...In_ front _of the kid,_ Emma thought as she forced a smile at Regina and Henry.

For the next few minutes, the only sounds heard belonged to the clanking of silverware on plates while the three of them ate in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, but none of them were used to eating as a group, a family.

“Um,” Henry awkwardly spoke up. “Am I still going to work with you today?”

Regina looked up from her plate and stared at Henry for a few seconds before she finally answered him.

“You'd rather go with Emma today,” Regina asked.

“Uh, well,” Henry said as she nervously scrunched up his face.

Regina looked over at Emma. She wasn't angry and didn't blame the blonde at all. She just wanted to silently communicate with her the way they seemed to do.

Emma opened and closed her mouth a few times as she continued to stare at Regina. She then turned to Henry and finally formed words.

“Actually, I've got a lot of running around to do today. Why don't you hang out with your mom until lunch then maybe she'll drop you off with me.”

Emma looked from Henry back to Regina for confirmation. She softened her eyes in a silent apology for canceling their lunch date by bringing Henry into the mix.

Regina took a moment to consider the option.

“Home by seven,” Regina flatly said as she kept her gaze focused solely on Emma.

Henry beamed.

“Can we go to the bowling alley again,” he asked Emma.

Emma lightly laughed.

“Yeah, kid. We can go bowling again. But tomorrow, at the station, I'm putting you to work.”

Henry laughed.

“I'll beat you enough times at bowling it'll be worth it.”

“You think so,” Emma asked.

“I beat you before, didn't I,” Henry confidently replied.

“Hmm. You know what I have to say about that,” Emma asked.

“What?”

Emma shot out of her chair with a playfully maniacal smile as she lunged at Henry.

Henry's jaw dropped and in an instant, he sprang to his feet and ran into the living room.

Emma didn't hesitate to chase after him.

Henry giggled all the way into the living room and looked over his shoulder occasionally check on the distance between him and Emma. Once he reached the couch, Emma gently pushed him onto it.

Regina stood from the table and slowly walked over to the living room in time to see the blonde trap Henry on the couch.

“No, no, no,” Henry quickly shouted in laughter, his back on the cushions as Emma tickled his stomach and his sides.

Regina crossed her arms and leaned against the frame of the archway. A smile slowly made its way from ear to ear as she watched Emma tickle her son, _their_ son.

“Do you give,” Emma asked with the brightest, widest smile Regina had ever seen on her.

“Never,” Henry yelled between laughs.

“We'll see about that,” Emma said as she increased the force of her tickle attack.

“I can't breathe!”

“Then how are you still talking?”

“Emma, I can't breathe,” he continued to laugh.

“Give up and you can breathe again,” Emma told him.

“No,” Henry yelled.

“You're feisty,” Emma said. “A fighter, huh? Just like your mom.”

Henry giggled a few more times before he spoke again.

“And like you.”

Emma's smile lessened, but it didn't completely fade.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Emma said as though she just remembered Henry was also her kid, but didn't let up on her attack.

Henry giggled even more before he yelped when Emma found his most ticklish spot.

“Emma,” he yelled as he continued to uncontrollably laugh.

“Say you give and I'll stop,” Emma shook her head at him with a smile.

Henry couldn't do anything but laugh.

Regina smiled as she watched the two of them together. Then a pang of jealousy washed over her and the smile faded. She still couldn't find it in herself to be upset, though. But she definitely missed the days when Henry would welcome even a hug from her. She knew she had no one to blame but herself, but she refused not to push the blame onto Henry's book. Things had been strained between them before the book, but he was a growing boy and it was to be expected.

Having him believe whole-heartedly that she was evil and had done many dark and twisted things strained their relationship further, even though she had done all those dark and twisted things. They were things a child need not know, especially not her own child. No one deserved monsters for parents. Regina knew all too well about having a beast of a mother. She didn't need history to repeat itself and she didn't think it had so why didn't Henry love her anymore?

“Okay! Okay! I give up,” Henry declared. “You win. Stop tickling me!”

Emma laughed and pulled her hands away from Henry.

Henry stopped laughing and took a few ragged breaths in an attempt to calm down from his fit of laughter. He pulled on the back of the couch to bring himself into a sitting position as Emma pushed off the couch and stood beside it.

“You may call me the tickle master,” Emma smugly said.

Before Regina's smile could return, she slowly stepped into the living room with her arms still crossed.

“I have to leave in ten minutes,” Regina spoke up and broke the mother-son moment. “Finish your breakfast and get ready.”

“I'm finished,” Henry replied as he got off the couch.

“Then go upstairs and get dressed. If you can be ready by the time I have to leave, I'll let Emma buy you something unhealthy for lunch.”

Henry scrunched up his face in confusion and looked incredulously at Regina.

“You called her Emma,” Henry pointed out.

Emma looked at Regina with wide eyes as she realized Henry's words rang true.

“You never call her Emma,” Henry added.

Regina met Emma's gaze and tried not to look as shocked as the blonde.

As the two of them stared at each other, they both knew the severity of the slip up. Regina had only ever called Emma by her first name during sex and even then there were conditions.

Regina looked back at Henry before he could turn to Emma.

“My mistake,” Regina started. “Though it is her name.”

“But...you never call anyone by their first name. Except for me.”

Regina sighed.

“If you make me late for work you can forget about that lunch offer.”

Henry shut his mouth and headed for the stairs.

Both women watched him go before Regina turned to Emma.

Green eyes met brown within seconds.

“You called me Emma,” the blonde smiled.

“And _you_ aren't getting a strip tease or lap dance from me,” Regina purred as she took a few slow steps toward Emma.

Regina dropped her arms to her sides as she closed the gap between them. Her eyes scanned over the younger woman as they fell from green eyes to supple breasts down to toned thighs and finally back up to pink lips before she met the Sheriff's gaze again.

“Maybe not at lunch, but I did get you more time with Henry. I think a reward is in order.”

Regina forced herself to grin as she tried her hardest not to warmly smile at the fact that Emma had indeed given her more time with Henry. Something she'd confessed to wanting earlier in the morning.

“You still owe me for not being able to satisfy me in the shower,” Regina started to banter as she side-stepped the truthful thought about what Emma had done for her.

“I said I wouldn't make anymore deals, but I'll make you one,” Emma started as she hooked her fingers into the waistband of the brunette's skirt and pulled her closer. “Strip tease and a lap dance from you tonight gets _you_ an orgasm or two by my hand.”

Emma slipped her hand into Regina's skirt and inside her panties to prove her point.

“And my tongue,” Emma purred then leaned in and licked Regina's neck.

Regina's eyes relaxed shut.

“And my teeth,” Emma added before she nipped at Regina's pulse point and rubbed the woman's clit with the pad of her middle finger.

Regina breathed out a soft, subtle moan.

“Anything else you want me to pleasure you with,” Emma huskily asked as she licked then nipped Regina's earlobe.

“Nothing I want to say while our son's still in the house.”

“ _Our_ son,” Emma asked.

“Another slip of the tongue,” Regina nonchalantly said as she tried to maintain her mask of indifference.

“Mm. There seems to be a lot of that happening with you today. First, in the shower. Then, the use of my name. Now this.”

Regina took a step back, away from Emma. The movement caused Emma's hand to disappear from Regina's skirt.

“Save it for tonight, dear,” Regina said.

“Can do,” Emma said then stepped closer to Regina again.

Emma leaned in and gave Regina a peck on the cheek.

“I should go,” Emma said and spun around to keep her focus on Regina as she backed out of the living room. “You gonna drop him off at the station or do you want to meet at the diner?”

“Why don't you pick him up at my office. One o'clock.”

Regina followed Emma toward the archway between the living room and the dining room.

“Not a problem,” Emma said. “Want me to bring you something for lunch?”

“I'm perfectly capable of getting my own food.”

“I know that,” Emma said as she felt Regina's hands come to rest on her hips.

Regina gently pushed the blonde against the archway.

“I'm just trying to be nice,” Emma continued.

“I didn't take you for the good girlfriend type.”

“I'm usually not. I haven't been the good girlfriend type in a long time.”

“Then why be so nice to _me_?”

“I don't know,” Emma shrugged. “So I can keep seeing you naked?”

It was a joke, Regina knew. She even smirked in response before she pressed her lower body against Emma's.

“You don't have to be nice to me for that to happen.”

“I don't?”

Regina shook her head.

“Oh well. What's one more character flaw, right?”

Emma smiled at Regina and ran a few fingers through a strand of Regina's hair. She wrapped her fingers around the strand and stroked her thumb over the soft, brunette hair.

“Besides,” Emma spoke up again. “I know when people are lying.”

“You think I'm lying?”

“Not about being able to see you naked. Just about the not needing to be nice to you part.”

“How do you figure?”

“I think you know.”

Regina slowly ran her hands up and down Emma's sides, under her shirt. She moved her hands around to Emma's back and slid her fingertips down to Emma's lower back. She slipped her fingers under Emma's jeans.

“That night,” Emma started again as she moved to feel more of Regina's fingers, a firmer touch. “Under the apple tree. And the next morning.”

Regina cupped both of Emma's cheeks and pulled the woman flush against her. She had Emma completely pinned, sandwiched, between herself and the archway.

“You liked it,” Emma finished.

Regina didn't say another word. Instead, she did what she did best and communicated entirely through the use of her body and her actions. She sucked on Emma's bottom lip then bit down.

Emma moaned and brushed her lower body against Regina's.

Regina chewed on and tugged at Emma's bottom lip a few times before she pulled back. She stared straight into her eyes for a few moments before she rested her forehead against the other woman's.

“Have a good day at work,” Regina said with a wicked grin.

Emma smirked back at her.

“You too,” Emma said before she maneuvered herself in such a way she was able to give Regina another peck on the cheek. “I'll see you at lunch.”

* * *

Emma left an extra twenty minutes early for lunch. She'd gone straight to work wearing the same clothes from the previous night and there was only so long she could go wearing the same outfit.

She stopped by the apartment with every intention of going to the diner after she changed. Regina hadn't told her what she wanted, but that wasn't going to stop her from surprising the brunette. Something inside her knew that Regina would appreciate it even though she wasn't sure why she wanted to please the woman outside the bedroom. She didn't even understand how she could have pushed the relationship deal on the mayor. She'd never been one to put herself in a position that could break her heart. Not since Neal. He'd not only broken her heart but betrayed her all in one moment. The moment he chose to abandon her.

Emma peeled off her shirt and switched bras. The dirty one for a clean one. She neglected to put on another shirt before she searched her drawers for a skirt. The only clean one she had was one she hadn't worn since she was seventeen. She sighed as she looked at it and picked it up.

She held the skirt out in front of her and inspected it. Not much about her body had changed since she was seventeen other than when she was pregnant with Henry, but she'd managed to lose whatever weight she'd gained. She yanked on a pair of black tights and slipped the skirt on over them. She grabbed a thin V-neck shirt that complimented the skirt and tugged her boots on as she headed for the stairs.

By the time she reached the landing on the first floor, she had both boots on and ready to be laced up. However, she still stood shirtless as a key turned in the lock and the apartment door flew open.

“Oh, Emma,” Mary Margaret exclaimed the second she noticed the blonde.

Mary Margaret pulled her key out of the lock and quickly shut the door.

“What are you doing home today,” she asked the Sheriff.

“I'm on break. Had to grab clean clothes,” Emma answered and waved the shirt she still held in her hand. “You?”

“I, uh, had a late night,” she hurriedly, awkwardly answered as she suddenly trained her eyes on the floor.

“David,” Emma asked.

Mary Margaret looked up and met Emma's gaze as a blush began to creep across her cheeks.

Emma knowingly smiled a lazy, crooked smile.

Mary Margaret slowly smiled back as she realized she'd been caught.

“Wait, isn't he still at the hospital,” Emma asked once confusion set in.

“Yeah,” Mary Margaret nodded. “I spent the night in his room.”

“You had sex with him in the hospital?!”

Mary Margaret's eyes went wide.

“No! No, we didn't have sex. We played a few games. Hang man, charades. A-and we talked.”

Emma relaxed then smiled again.

“Aw.”

“But, um...” Mary Margaret nervously started. “There's something you and I need to talk about.”

Emma furrowed her brow, instantly worried.

“He doesn't really have anywhere to go when the doctor's release him and...well, he and I have been spending a lot of time together since he woke up. So...would it be okay if he stayed here when he got out?”

“Wha- Uh, sure? But can't he stay at Granny's?”

“He doesn't have any money. When he does, though, he said he'd be more than happy to get a room there. He really doesn't want to intrude.”

“So you already talked about this with him,” Emma stated, a little deflated that her roommate hadn't talked to her first.

“Well, I wanted to ask you before he and I got into it, but it just came up last night. Plus, it's not like you've been spending a lot of time here anyway so I didn't think you'd mind. And he'll stay on the couch.”

Emma sighed.

“It's fine.”

“Really,” Mary Margaret excitedly asked before she realized Emma didn't seem too thrilled. “I mean, are you sure?”

Emma smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. He needs somewhere to crash, he doesn't know anyone but you, and he's got no job. I know what it's like living on the streets. I'd hate to see that happen to someone else, especially someone with amnesia.”

Mary Margaret beamed.

“Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said as she jogged with a bounce in each step over to Emma and wrapped her arms around her half-dressed friend.

She squeezed Emma into a hug.

Emma winced as she felt the woman's hands on her back.

Mary Margaret felt Emma flinch in her arms, but that wasn't the only thing she felt. She knitted her brow and ran her fingertips over raised skin. When she thought she knew what it was she felt, she pulled away from the hug and looked up at Emma, worried and upset.

Emma gulped and looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Mary Margaret grabbed the other woman's shoulders and spun the blonde around to take a look.

“It's not as bad as it looks,” Emma quickly defended as Mary Margaret forced her to turn away.

Mary Margaret gasped as her eyes roamed over angry red scratch marks. They appeared deep and fresh.

“Oh my god! What happened to you, Emma?”

“Nothing. I'm fine,” she insisted.

“Is this the real reason you're here? Is someone hurting you?”

“No!”

“Tell that to your back.”

“Well, yeah, someone's hurting me, but not like that.”

Emma spun around and faced the schoolteacher before she continued.

“I'm seeing someone.”

“Emma, if they're hurting you like this...? You really shouldn't be seeing them.”

“They're not abusing me. I...I kind of asked for it.”

Mary Margaret shook her head.

“No one asks to be abused.”

“I'm not-” Emma cut herself off and sighed. “It's just rough sex, okay? That's what I meant when I said I asked for it.”

“Oh.”

Mary Margaret's face lost a few shades of color.

“So...it's the mystery man that Ruby keeps teasing you about? You and he...get rough with each other?”

Emma wasn't sure how much to tell her friend. She looked around, a little ashamed, as she nervously bit her bottom lip. The action caused her to think about Regina and the fact that the woman had had her lips and teeth all over her lip before she left the woman's house. She immediately let go of her lip in that moment.

“She,” Emma slowly admitted.

“What,” Mary Margaret asked, thoroughly confused.

“ _She_ and I get rough with each other.”

Mary Margaret shook her head as she tried to think of what woman Emma would find herself getting physically involved with. Then her eyes lit up as she recalled the front page news the other day.

“You and Ruby?!”

“What? No!”

“But...you two were kissing at the Rabbit Hole.”

“It was just a kiss. We were both a little drunk. She and I are just friends.”

“Then who-?”

Mary Margaret's eyes went wide again and lit up twice as much as they had a minute ago.

“Regina?”

Emma hesitated before she confirmed it with a nod.

“Oh, Emma,” Mary Margaret said with notable disappointment in her tone.

 


	23. Chapter 23

“ _Then who-?”_

_Mary Margaret's eyes went wide again and lit up twice as much as they had a minute ago._

“ _Regina?”_

_Emma hesitated before she confirmed it with a nod._

“ _Oh, Emma,” Mary Margaret said with notable disappointment in her tone._

“Why her?”

Emma didn't say anything.

“What about Henry? Does he know,” Mary Margaret asked.

Emma shook her head.

“No. She and I agreed we wouldn't tell him yet.”

“But you plan on telling on him?”

“I guess. If we date long enough and things are still going well, yeah. I think he should know.”

Mary Margaret scrunched up her face, confused.

“I just...don't get it. You two hate each other.”

Emma practically snorted.

“Sometimes the best sex is sparked from hate,” Emma said.

Mary Margaret's jaw dropped in shock, though she quickly tried to stifle a laugh at the blonde's words.

“What's the real problem you have with this,” Emma asked after a minute.

Mary Margaret shook her head.

“I don't know what you mean,” she said as her gaze shifted several times.

“I know when people are lying, but even if I didn't you're being completely obvious. Come on. What's making you look at me like I'm out of my mind? Is it because she's a woman?”

“No! No, Emma, nothing like that. It's fine. I mean, I thought...with the way you and Graham were...”

Mary Margaret trailed off and when Emma sensed she wasn't going to finish her sentence, at least not for a while, she jumped in to correct the woman.

“A person can be interested in both men and women. It's not unheard of.”

“Of course not, I just-”

“He and I were... I don't know what we were. We weren't really anything. I think I just used him to get back at Regina.”

“Get back at her?”

Mary Margaret had definitely been thrown for a loop.

“For what,” the schoolteacher curiously asked.

“To prove I could handle anything she threw at me? I don't know. I just...I'd see her with Graham and...and I liked Graham so I just took what I knew I could have. He seemed interested in me and I flirted. The more time I spent with him, the more upset it made her. She'd get this look.”

Emma stopped to remember how the brunette looked when she got angry before they started sleeping together. A smile slowly crept across her face.

Mary Margaret watched the blonde light up.

“Emma, I don't think you want to get involved with her.”

Emma snapped out of her reverie.

“Why not?”

“For one, she's the Mayor. That makes her your boss.”

“And I'm always late with my paperwork. If I satisfy her, she lets it slide,” Emma joked with a lopsided smirk, though there was a small bit of truth in her statement.

“Oh...kay,” Mary Margaret slowly said as she tried to wrap her head around their conversation. “Well, there's also the fact that she's not the easiest person to get to know.”

“And I am? Tell me, what's my middle name? Or remind me why Henry's father isn't here with me? Do you know me well enough to know what happened to me that made me run away and live on the streets?”

Mary Margaret stood still and just swallowed. She had nothing to say. She couldn't answer any of those questions. She barely knew the woman that stood before her, the woman she considered a friend. Friends should know more about each other than what she knew about her roommate.

“You have a point,” Mary Margaret replied with a curt nod. “But...help me understand this. Why her? I know Storybrooke isn't exactly full of people a person would want to romantically get involved with, but...the Mayor? I think she's the last person on anyone's list of people to sleep with.”

“Well, she shouldn't be,” Emma mumbled, though Mary Margaret heard every word.

When Emma looked over at her roommate, she noticed through her expression and body language that the woman was uncomfortable.

“Listen, if you're gonna lecture me-”

“No,” Mary Margaret wildly shook her head. “You're twenty-eight years old. That's old enough to make your own decisions. And it's not like I'm not your mother. Although, at the next town meeting I'm probably not going to be thinking about anything but the two of you going at it.”

Emma and Mary Margaret shared a laugh. After a moment, when the laughter subsided, Mary Margaret spoke again.

“Does she make you happy?”

Emma thought about it. There was a long pause as she replayed the events that led up to that point in her so called relationship with Regina. Another smile slowly graced her face.

Mary Margaret saw her glow. The blonde seemed warm and her features softened like a weight had been lifted.

“Yeah...I think she does,” Emma nodded before she returned the other woman's gaze again.

“Okay,” Mary Margaret smiled in response.

“Okay. ...So, um, I'm gonna put this shirt on now.”

Mary Margaret laughed.

“Right.”

Emma slipped the shirt on then leaned over and laced up her boots.

“I've got to go, but I'll see you later,” Emma said as she headed for the door.

“Tonight?”

Emma turned back to Mary Margaret as she reached the door.

“Not tonight.”

Mary Margaret knowingly smiled.

“When are they releasing David from the hospital,”Emma asked.

“Tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Emma nodded then pulled open the door. “See ya.”

* * *

Emma strode right past Meredith at the front desk. She didn't even acknowledge the other woman's presence as she barged into Regina's office like she was entitled to do such a thing. The second she opened the door, she saw Henry in the corner drawing while Regina leafed through a stack of paperwork at her desk.

“Who's hungry,” Emma smiled as she held up a take out bag from Granny's diner.

“Me,” Henry exclaimed as he shot out of his chair and bounded toward Emma.

Regina looked up from her work and watched Henry grab the bag out of Emma's hand. He brought it down to eye level and peered into it.

“A burger, some fries...a _sandwich_?”

Henry looked up at Emma with an expression that read between incredulous and disgusted.

“I'm trying to watch my figure,” Emma shrugged.

Henry shook his head then looked back into the bag. He didn't believe her for a second.

“Mm, and there's a...salad in here too. With dressing _on the side_?”

“Okay, kid,” Emma said as she snatched the bag from him. “If you're gonna mock the food I got, you don't get any.”

Emma tried to step around Henry, but he moved directly in front of her.

“Wait,” Henry started. “I'm sorry. Just tell me the burger is for me.”

Emma chuckled. She stared at him for a few seconds before she reached into the bag and handed him the burger.

“Yeah,” she replied.

Henry hurriedly took the burger from Emma.

“Yes,” he victoriously hissed.

Emma shook her head with a smile.

“All that excitement for a burger,” Emma started then clicked her tongue behind her teeth. “Wonder what you'll do when I give you this.”

Emma brought her other hand into view and revealed a thick, chocolate milk shake in her possession.

“Really,” he happily asked with wide eyes as he looked between Emma and the shake.

“Really,” Emma confirmed. “But I expect you to share with me, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever,” he quickly said as he took the shake and went back to his seat.

“Henry,” Regina scolded. “What do you say when someone gives you something?”

“Thank you,” Henry said without commitment.

Emma laughed.

“You're welcome.”

Emma walked toward Regina with the bag and placed it on the desk.

“What about you,” Emma asked. “Are you hungry?”

Regina looked from the bag to green eyes.

“Not particularly.”

“Well,” Emma said as she reached into the bag and moved the sandwich aside. “I got you another Greek salad. I wasn't sure if you liked the one I got you before-”

“I did. Thank you,” Regina gave a small smile. “But I...”

Regina trailed off to check on Henry. Convinced he was too immersed in his food to overhear their conversation, she continued, but with a quieter tone.

“But I told you this morning that I didn't need you to get me anything.”

“Too bad. I couldn't resist,” Emma smiled as she placed the salad in front of Regina.

“And the sandwich,” Regina asked.

“I thought you'd appreciate it if I didn't eat anything overly fatty.”

“So you're going on a diet...for me?”

Emma laughed.

“Hell no. I wouldn't go on a diet even if you threatened to withhold sex from me,” Emma said and whispered when she said the word “sex” so Henry wouldn't hear.

“Really, dear?”

Regina looked over Emma from head to toe and back up to green eyes with a predatory stare.

Emma felt a heat surge through her as Regina checked her out. She almost licked her lips on the spot.

“I'm not on a diet and I'm not _going_ on a diet,” Emma said after a moment as she tried to keep even a small thread of dignity. “But I am doing you a favor. No burgers for lunch if you and I are going to...you know.”

Regina grinned.

“Then you _are_ on diet, dear. We've been together every day this week alone. What makes you think we'd slow down now?”

Emma bit her bottom lip as she felt a familiar tension between her legs. She clenched her thighs together to hinder her sexual hunger.

Regina's eyes immediately fell to Emma's thighs the moment the woman shifted in front of her. Her tongue slithered out past perfect, white teeth and licked her lips.

The sight made it harder for Emma to control her urge to take Regina right then. Henry was in the room and she was only there to take him back to the Sheriff's station with her.

_Muscle memory,_ Emma mused.  _Guess that's what happens when you have sex every day at lunch for six days straight._

Emma cleared her throat and drew Regina's eyes to her own.

“But you've got to let me have some of that chocolate shake,” Emma said.

Regina smiled.

“Fine,” the brunette agreed after a quick moment.

“Thank you,” Emma said with an overly sweet tone. She looked over at Henry as he wiped condiments off his face with the back of his hand then chomped down on another large bite. She looked back at Regina and kept her tone low before she added, “I'd kiss you right now if we were alone.”

“We have a no kissing rule.”

“Relax, Madam Mayor. It'd be on the cheek.”

Regina smiled and looked over Emma again.

“Home by seven,” Regina reminded the blonde.

“We'll be there,” Emma promised as her eyes glittered.

Emma turned to Henry.

“Hey, kid. You ready to go?”

“Mhmm,” Henry said as he finished chewing and placed the remainder of the burger back in its wrapper.

Emma glanced back at Regina as the brunette stood at her desk.

Henry grabbed his things then headed over to Emma.

Emma put an arm around Henry's shoulders and gently guided him toward the door. She slowed to a stop just as Henry left the office. She let him go into the lobby and turned back to Regina as the brunette came to stand behind her.

“See you tonight,” Emma said then leaned in and kissed Regina on the cheek as she said she would have done less than a minute ago.

Regina looked over Emma's shoulder to see if she could spot Henry in the lobby then looked at Emma again when she didn't see him.

“Have fun,” Regina said, a bit of sadness in her tone.

Emma picked up on it.

“You really haven't spent much time with him, have you.”

Regina forced a tight-lipped smile to keep from crying.

“No, I haven't.”

“I'll see if there's anything I can do about that.”

Regina sadly laughed.

“You don't have to do that.”

“I also don't have to do this,” Emma said before she wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and pulled her in close.

Emma kissed Regina on the cheek again, but didn't stop at just one peck. She kissed her cheek over and over again as though she were trying to smother Regina.

“Miss Swan,” Regina couldn't stifle the small laugh that escaped her as the younger woman continued to kiss her over and over. “Henry's in the lobby waiting for you.”

“Mm,” Emma hummed against Regina's cheek as she persisted with two more kisses then stopped.

Emma pulled her upper body away from Regina as she finally stopped kissing the mayor, but kept them pressed together by their lower bodies, her arms still wrapped around the brunette's waist.

“I don't understand any of this,” Emma started. “I've never...I haven't been this lovey dovey in a long time. ...You wouldn't mind if I blamed it on you being the best sex in my life, right?”

Regina throatily chuckled.

“I'm flattered,” she said.

Emma pecked her on the cheek again.

“I can't wait to touch you tonight,” Emma confessed.

Regina pushed Emma against the door frame and pinned her there before she leaned in and pecked the Sheriff on the cheek herself. She moved lower and kissed just under Emma's jaw as she pushed back blonde hair then placed a wet kiss on the woman's pulse point.

“I'm going to make you feel so good tonight,” Regina breathed against Emma's neck before she moved back and met the other woman's gaze again.

Emma quietly moaned.

“Well, I plan on misbehaving tonight,” Emma grinned with a lustful gleam in her eyes.

Regina felt a shiver run down her spine and desire pool between her thighs. After a minute, she spoke again.

“You need to go,” Regina said. “Henry.”

“Right,” Emma said and slowly detached herself from Regina.

“Emma,” Henry asked for her as he started to walk back toward the office.

Emma stuffed her hands into the pockets of her red leather jacket.

“Sorry, kid,” Emma said as she looked over at the boy when he came to stand between her and Regina. “I'm coming. While you're here, why don't you say bye to your mom?”

Henry looked between the two women then held Emma's gaze for a long moment.

“Bye, Mom,” Henry said then stepped toward Regina and gave her a hug.

“Thank you,” Regina mouthed to Emma as she engulfed Henry in a much longed for embrace.

Emma smiled and gave a nod meant as a silent “you're welcome.”

Henry pulled away and Emma took one hand out of her jacket pocket. She placed it on one of Henry's shoulders and turned him toward the lobby.

“I'm gonna kick your little butt,” Emma said as she and Henry left Regina.

“Yeah, right. I'm gonna take you down, Swan.”

Regina almost laughed as she heard the two of them argue on their way out.

* * *

Henry rolled the ball down the lane. After a few seconds, the ball connected with all ten pins. A strike.

“Booyah,” Henry threw his hands up high in the air as he spun around to face Emma with a beaming expression. “I'm fifteen points ahead and we're in the ninth frame. There's no way you're catching up.”

Emma shook her head with a smile.

“You're humble like you're mom too, I see,” Emma said.

Henry frowned.

“Speaking of my mom,” he started. “What's going on with you two? You're over for dinner even when I don't ask you to be and then last night you spent the night. What's that mean?”

“It means she and I are getting along.”

“So...are you friends?”

“Uh, yeah. I guess.”

“Is that because you're keeping an eye on her Evil Queen behavior?”

Emma looked confused for a moment before she remembered their conversation where she promised she'd look out for Evil Queen tendencies.

“Not specifically. But I guess if she did anything Evil Queen-like, I'd notice.”

Henry nodded.

“That's good. Just...be careful. She can be your worst enemy. She's supposed to be. You're the Savior, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. She hates Snow White and you're the only one who can break the curse she cast on everyone.”

“Curse?”

“Yeah. Didn't you read the book?”

“I skimmed it.”

“Did you at least read about the Evil Queen?”

“Oh, right. The curse she cast to punish Snow White. Okay, so...the Savior is the only one who can break the curse?”

“Yep.”

“And what happens when the curse breaks?”

“Everybody should remember who they are, but I'm not really sure what that means. The book only explains so much, you know?”

“Right.”

“So, do you believe me now? About the book?”

“You're asking me to believe in fairy tales and that I'm related to them. No, I don't believe it. But I'm not saying you're crazy for believing it yourself.”

“You're not saying it, but you're thinking it.”

“No, Henry,” Emma said as she crouched down to put herself at eye level with the boy. “I don't think that at all.”

Emma sighed as she struggled to find a way to explain herself.

“It's just...really hard for people to wrap their heads around something like that. It's like...okay, if I told you that you were related to Superman, would you just embrace it or would you have questions? You know, take time to think about the possibility.”

“I guess I'd ask questions.”

“That's all I'm doing. I'm not saying it's not true, the fairy tales. I just...I want to know more about it before I commit to believing in it. Do you understand?”

Henry pinched his face in a contemplating expression as he thought about it.

“Yeah, I get it,” he finally said. “Anyway, it's your turn.”

Emma smiled and ruffled up his hair before she grabbed a bowling ball and got ready to throw it.

Emma took a deep breath and relaxed with the ball in her hands as she stood at the ready. She focused on the pins and went for it.

The ball rolled down the lane and curved with the wooden floor until it righted itself at the last moment. The ball knocked down eight pins.

“Wow,” Henry said from the table. “That's the best you've bowled all night.”

“Shut up,” Emma laughed.

“You still won't catch up to me.”

“We'll see about that.”

Emma grabbed another ball and set herself. She wasn't much of a bowler, but all she had to do was focus and it seemed to instantly help her score.

She rolled the ball and the last two pins went down.

“Yes,” Emma smiled and clapped her hands as she watched the pins slowly reset.

She turned back to Henry.

“Picked up a spare. I may just catch up to you yet,” she said to Henry.

“Sure,” Henry sarcastically drawled out.

“You're all talk,” Emma said.

“Like my mom?”

“Actually, she packs a punch. Why would you say that anyway?”

“You've been comparing me to her a lot today.”

“Ah, sorry. The more time I spend with her, the more I see the similarities between you two. You should really spend more time with her too.”

Henry shrugged.

Emma wasn't going to fight him.

“Well, come on. Show me that arm. We're in the last frame. Beat me and prove that you can whip my sore butt.”

“Sore,” Henry asked, a small laugh as he spoke. “Don't you mean sorry?”

“No, I mean sore. If you get two more strikes to close out the game, I'll be a sore loser.”

And sore because of the slight spanking Regina had given her that morning, but she wouldn't dare mention that.

Emma pulled her phone out and checked the time.

“Let's go, kid. It's a quarter to seven. You're mom will kill me if we're late.”

“You joke about that, but I think she would,” Henry casually said as he picked up a ball.

Emma lightly laughed, though she didn't like the idea of Henry thinking his own mother was some Evil Queen trying to destroy everyone in town.

Henry bowled a strike.

“I'm about to prove I didn't get my bowling skills from you,” Henry smugly said.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Henry took another ball and prepared to throw. A few seconds later, he let it roll.

Emma watched in fascination as the ball approached the pins. Nine pins down.

“Shit,” Emma blinked, her eyes wide in surprise.

“Told ya,” Henry smirked.

And without even trying, he rolled the ball again and knocked down the last pin.

* * *

Emma rang the doorbell five minutes after seven o'clock. She waited beside Henry on the porch as the kid continued to mock her poor bowling skills.

“I knew you were gonna lose, but I didn't think it'd be _that_ bad.”

“Oh, give me a break. I could've done worse.”

Regina opened the door just as Henry responded.

“Really, 'cause that was the most anti-climatic game of bowling I've ever played,” Henry teased.

Regina furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side as she grinned at her son's words. She was impressed with his comeback. He was getting so big and so smart.

“You're ten. You haven't played nearly enough games to say that.”

“You knocked over three pins then threw a gutter ball.”

Regina chuckled.

“Whatever. I could hustle you at pool.”

“Then can we play that tomorrow?”

“Absolutely not,” Regina cut in.

“Why not,” Henry whined.

“Because the only pool table in this town is at the local bar,” Regina replied.

“So?”

“Sorry, kid, but I draw the line at taking you to a bar. It's not gonna happen,” Emma said.

“Okay.”

Henry walked past Regina into the house.

“He beat you at bowling again, did he,” Regina asked with a knowing grin, pleased with what she'd heard about Henry's victory.

“He did. He's got amazing focus. And a hell of an arm. He should really play sports.”

“No sports. He could get hurt.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.”

“So if he wanted to try out for little league, you'd tell him no because he could get hurt?”

“Yes, but he wouldn't try out anyway.”

“Regina, he's a kid. He's gonna get hurt. He could be running outside and trip. He'll scrape his knee and bruise himself. It's perfectly normal for a kid to get hurt.”

“Well, like I said, he wouldn't try out anyway.”

Regina stepped back and Emma moved inside. She closed the door behind the blonde.

“But if he did?”

Regina sighed.

“Would it really be that big a deal if he didn't play sports, Miss Swan?”

“If he wanted to play and his mom wouldn't let him, yeah.”

“What could he possibly get from playing such foolish games, really?”

“Friends. A rush from winning. Getting good exercise. Ten year olds should be active. Let him play, be a kid. He's too serious.”

“He seems fine to me.”

“Does he?”

Regina stopped on her way to the kitchen and looked over at Emma.

“I know I'm probably out of line. What would I know about raising kids, right?”

“You would be correct, dear.”

“But I know what it's like to _be_ a kid. I didn't have much and no one really let me do anything. None of my foster parents cared enough to ask what _I_ wanted.”

Regina just listened.

“Maybe if someone had taken the time to care, I wouldn't have run off and tried to survive on the streets.”

“Are you saying that Henry would run away if I denied him the ability to play games he's never once shown interest in?”

Emma shrugged.

“I'm just saying...if he did show interest, you could at least listen.”

Regina frowned.

“I don't like what you're implying, Miss Swan.”

Emma defensively raised her hands.

“I'm not trying to pick a fight. I'm sorry. I just... It might help with trying to spend more time with him.”

Regina thought about it.

“Fine,” she agreed. “If he should ask about things that I'd rather he not do, I'll consider it. I'll _listen_.”

Emma smiled.

“Good. Now where's that lasagna. I'm starving.”

* * *

Emma set Henry's shoes on the other side of the nightstand like she did every time she put Henry to bed. That time, her actions received a question.

“Why do you put my shoes there,” Henry asked as he sat up in his bed wearing a loose, dark blue T-shirt and green and blue plaid pajama pants.

“Oh,” Emma frowned as she looked down at his shoes like she just realized she'd put them there. “Well, it's something they made us do at the orphanage.”

Henry looked down.

“Oh, sorry,” he softly said.

“No, don't worry about it,” Emma shook her head and sat down on the side of the bed. “It's not like you brought up a bad memory or anything. I just do it so often I kind of forget that I'm doing it.”

Henry looked up and met green eyes.

Emma smiled at him, a genuine smile meant to assure him he hadn't said or done anything to upset her.

Henry smiled back.

“Get some sleep, kid,” Emma said as she patted his leg, covered by his comforter, and stood.

“Wait,” Henry stopped her. “Can you read me a bedtime story? Or...at least _tell_ me one?”

“Oh, kid. I suck at coming up with stories and I left your book at my apartment.”

“I'll help you tell one!”

Henry's face lit up with excitement as he sat up straighter.

Emma scrunched up her face, uncertain, while stuck in thought.

Henry looked at her with expectancy and hope.

“Okay,” Emma agreed.

Henry beamed.

Emma leaned in and lowered her voice so only he could hear her.

“But only if you invite your mom to join us.”

Henry looked straight into Emma's eyes for a long moment before he looked over his shoulder at the empty doorway, his door wide open.

“Mom!”

Emma cringed at the loudness of Henry's call for Regina, especially since he'd yelled in her ear give or take a few inches of space between her ear and his mouth.

Regina furrowed her brow in confusion as she listened outside Henry's bedroom. She stood off to the side and against the wall, out of sight. When she heard her title of “Mom”, heard Henry call for her, it caught her off guard.

Regina stepped into the doorway and kept the surprise she felt out of her features.

“Yes?”

“Emma's going to tell me a story. Will you listen with me?”

When it came to Henry, Regina completely forgot to hide her emotions. Shock appeared on her face as her jaw dropped at the request.

Emma looked over her shoulder and smiled at Regina's open-mouthed expression.

“You...you want me to join you?”

“Yeah,” Henry said with a nod.

Henry looked at Emma as the blonde looked between Regina and him.

Emma looked at Henry and sensed he wanted to add something. She waited for Henry to continue, a little stunned and a lot curious as to what he'd say.

“You can sit right next to me,” Henry made his addendum as he pulled one of the two pillows out from behind him and placed it beside him on the bed.

He fluffed it up a bit and smiled at Regina.

Regina slowly started to smile herself and felt her heart warm at the extent of Henry's invitation.

Emma brightly smiled at Henry, proud and impressed.

Henry looked at Emma and her expression caused his smile to widen. He knew he'd done well.

Regina crossed the room to the bed and stepped out of her heels. She laid next to him in the bed, a little rigid, and turned onto her side just to fit onto the twin sized mattress.

Regina cleared her throat, uncomfortable in such a position in front of Emma. It didn't help matters when she found Emma's eyes locked onto her.

Emma tucked her legs under herself and sat cross-legged next to Henry on the other side of the bed. She faced the boy and his brunette mother. She kept her attention on Regina as she adjusted to the new position then looked at Henry. She smiled at him then bit her bottom lip and tried to think.

“Okay,” Emma said after a minute. “I know your thing is fairy tales, Henry, but I might just deviate a little from the usual story about a princess. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Henry nodded.

“You still gonna help me tell it?”

“Yep.”

Emma smiled.

“Good.”

Emma took a brief moment to ready herself, as stupid as that sounded.

“Once upon a time, there was a girl.”

“You mean a princess,” Henry asked.

Emma shook her head.

“No, I mean a girl.”

“So she's not a princess?”

“If you let me continue the story, you'll find out what she is. You're suppose to _help_ tell the story, not correct it,” she said with a smile.

“Sorry,” Henry smiled back.

“Once upon a time, there was a girl,” Emma started again. “She wasn't a princess. She knew how the world worked. She could fight for herself and she often had to. In fairy tale terms, I guess she was a knight.”

“A girl knight,” Henry incredulously asked.

“Yeah, got a problem with a girl knight?”

“No, but please don't tell me this story is about Mulan.”

“Why? Don't you like Mulan?”

“I do, but now you've got me curious. I want to hear an Emma Swan _original_ story.”

Emma looked from Henry to Regina.

“Well, go on, dear. I for one would like to know how this ends,” Regina encouraged her with a grin.

Emma shifted on the bed then cleared her throat.

“It's not about Mulan,” Emma said before she continued. “This female knight kept her name and her very identity a secret, much like Mulan, but she's _not_ Mulan.”

Henry silently laughed at that. Even Regina couldn't resist a smile.

“She never felt like she belonged. She didn't have a home, but she had heart. She knew she could fight and that was all she knew how to do.”

Henry frowned.

“What kind of knight doesn't have confidence in themself,” Henry asked.

“The kind that has confidence in her skills. That's all a knight ever needs, right? Skills?”

Henry shrugged.

“I guess,” he said.

“And loyalty,” Regina added with a regal voice. “If a knight isn't loyal, the person they're supposed to be protecting isn't really protected. A knight's skills are only as useful as their loyalty.”

Henry and Emma stared, both slack-jawed, at Regina.

“What? I read too,” Regina defended her words. “Not to mention, you don't have to have a knight around to want loyalty. Without it, you have no one. Without it, you can't trust anyone.”

Emma closed her mouth only to frown. She nodded as she kept her eyes on Regina. A moment later, she began again.

“This girl, this _knight_ , traveled alone. She didn't belong to a Guard. One night, she made her way through the woods and stumbled upon a grand palace.”

“And in the palace lived a princess,” Henry threw in.

Emma furrowed her brow.

“Not a prince?”

“No. A princess. But she did have a prince trying to court her.”

“Alright,” Emma agreed with uncertainty. “The knight stumbled upon the princess' palace. She went to get a closer look, her curiosity stronger than her need to distance herself for survival.”

“Why distance herself,” Henry asked, confused.

“Because as long as she never let anyone in, she couldn't get hurt,” Emma answered.

Regina stared at Emma with understanding. Emma didn't notice, however. Not until-

“Did the princess feel the same way,” Henry asked.

Emma looked over at Regina and saw the pain and hurt that drowned brown eyes in sadness.

“Yes,” Emma replied, her eyes locked on Regina's.

* * *

Henry had fallen asleep before they could finish the story. The last thing he heard about the knight and the princess was how they met.

He struggled to keep his eyes open after Emma told him the knight had asked the princess if she was okay when she noticed the princess had been crying. His eyes drooped when Emma told him the princess lost her temper, or in Emma's words “was pissed off she'd been seen crying.” He smiled when Regina predictably didn't hesitate to scold her for her fowl language.

Emma had then corrected herself and smartly continued to say, “The princess didn't _appreciate_ being seen in a _vulnerable_ _state_.” She'd gone on to say the knight charmed her way into a decent conversation with the princess, though she'd described it in a little more detail than that. But that was when Henry's breathing had slowed and evened out. He didn't get to hear the princess' response to the knight's question of, “May I come up?”

Regina leaned in and kissed Henry on the forehead before she removed herself from his bed.

Emma smoothed out his hair as she got up and stood at the side of his bed. She smiled at him before she turned and followed Regina toward the bedroom door.

Regina turned off the light as Emma closed the last few feet between them.

Emma closed the door after them and continued to follow Regina until she joined the brunette in the master bedroom. Again, she closed the door behind them, that time with a grin.

“So...are you gonna dance for me now,” Emma asked with a predatory gleam in her eyes as she slowly approached Regina by the bed.

Regina laughed as she looked at Emma.

“Some knight you are,” Regina sarcastically said as she started to walk toward the bathroom.

Emma grabbed Regina's arm and stopped her from disappearing into the other room. She spun the other woman around to face her and nervously gulped before she knelt in front of Regina. She moved her hand down Regina's arm to take one of the brunette's hands in her own. She never took her eyes off Regina's as she did it all.

“Even though you owe me a dance, I'll do this first,” Emma said. “I, Emma Swan, am a devoted knight. I am _your_ knight. And I hereby declare my loyalty to you.”

Regina stood speechless. It took a few seconds of staring into green eyes before she regained use of her vocal chords.

“But you haven't been properly knighted.”

Emma furrowed her brow and scanned around the room. When her search came up fruitless, she found Regina's eyes.

“Got anything you can knight me with,” she asked.

“You want me to actually knight you?”

Emma nodded with a smile.

Regina's mouth fell wide open, completely baffled by Emma's request.

“You don't want that,” Regina insisted after a moment.

“Sure, I do,” Emma continued to smile. “Now, come on, there's got to be something in here you can use.”

Emma remained on her knees as she looked around the room again.

“Are you sure you want to do this,” Regina asked, still utterly shocked though a warmth spread across her body like a tidal wave washing into shore.

The feeling made her skin tingle and goosebumps appeared all over her arms and legs under her work attire.

Emma stopped looking around the room yet again to make eye contact with Regina. She stared right into those brown eyes that were always conflicted and conveyed her answer in a single look. But she confirmed it with words anyway, for clarification. She wanted to ensure there was no misunderstanding.

“Yes.”

Regina took a deep breath. She squeezed Emma's hand before she let it go and turned to her nightstand.

“Then I believe I have just the thing,” Regina said as she walked away from Emma.

She opened the drawer to the nightstand and retrieved a letter opener. She closed the drawer and turned back to Emma.

The room light reflected off the golden letter opener and Emma's eyes widened.

“You keep a letter opener by your bed?”

“No, I was opening the mail last week in my study, which is where I normally keep it, but I came up here to look at the mail. It was late and I just decided to put it in the drawer. I keep forgetting to put it back down in the study.”

By the time Regina finished her explanation, she stood in front of Emma once again. She stared at the blonde on her knees before her for a long, quiet moment.

The house was silent, completely still. The two women didn't say a word as they continued to stare at each other for that moment.

Regina stood still with the letter opener in her hands as she sandwiched the tip of it between her thumb and index finger of her left hand. Her right hand gripped the base of the letter opener, her palm tightly closed around it. She took another deep breath then extended the letter opener completely in her right hand toward Emma's left shoulder.

“It is with great honor,” Right started. “That I dub thee Miss Emma Swan...”

Regina trailed off as she placed the letter opener on Emma's shoulder. She raised it and moved it over Emma's head to the blonde's right shoulder.

“A Royal Knight.”

She pulled the letter opener away from Emma, the blonde's eyes trained on her the entire time Regina had “knighted” her, then added on to the title.

“A _White_ Knight.”

“...My Queen,” Emma said as she respectfully bowed her head.

Regina gasped and released the letter opener. It fell onto the carpet with a small thud neither woman heard. She stood completely still, more tense than she'd ever been in her entire life, and stared down at blonde curls.

Emma lifted her head and looked up at Regina with a smirk.

“While I'm down here,” Emma purred and reached around Regina to pull down the zipper of the brunette's pencil skirt.

Emma pulled the skirt up to bunch at the Mayor's hips as the woman watched her.

The shock in Regina's expression, Emma noted, had started to disappear. As she ran her hands up Regina's legs then her inner thighs, she quickly noticed that initial shock was replaced with desire.

Emma leaned in and slowly breathed hot air onto one of Regina's inner thighs.

Regina grabbed a fistful of blonde curls and closed her eyes.

Emma leaned in further and pressed her lips to the exposed flesh. She licked the area between her lips then nibbled on the soft skin.

Regina whimpered and held Emma's head close to her thigh. She tugged upward on Emma's hair and forced the woman to apply her kisses and gentle bites in a trail toward her own sex.

Emma hooked a finger in Regina's thin and wet panties and pulled them down to Regina's ankles.

She grabbed Regina's right leg and tossed it over her left shoulder, which brought Regina's center directly onto her mouth.

Regina moaned and tensed the leg slung over Emma's shoulder. She gripped Emma's other shoulder with her hand and her breathing became labored.

Emma slid her tongue up Regina's slit before she swirled the tip of it over her clit.

Regina lurched forward and smothered Emma between her legs as she weighed down the blonde's shoulder.

Emma took on the added weight, not that Regina was heavy, and teasingly circled a fingertip around Regina's slick opening. She pressed her tongue against Regina's clit then swiped at it a few times with a flick.

“Emma,” Regina hissed as she tightened her grip on the younger woman's shoulder.

Emma moaned against Regina's clit and sent vibrations through the other woman.

Regina rolled her hips to force more contact out of her.

Emma grinned against Regina as she sucked on the woman's clit and slipped two fingers inside the Mayor's self-lubricated sex. She took her time as she moved in and out of Regina while she simultaneously savored the feast she had on the woman's clit.

Regina pushed forward again and Emma knew if the brunette pushed any further she would topple over her.

Emma reached up between Regina's legs with her free arm and sped up her pace with her other hand.

Regina cut off every moan to ensure they wouldn't be heard by Henry, though she still managed to make sound. Enough so that Emma enjoyed every last one.

Emma placed a hand on the small of Regina's back as she nipped at the other woman's clit.

Regina clenched around Emma's fingers before the other woman eased in a third finger then charged forward as she came undone.

Emma immediately cradled Regina with the arm she'd placed between the woman's legs and rested the hand of that arm on Regina's lower back. She continued her pace, in and out, as she tasted Regina on her tongue. She held Regina as the woman's knees buckled beneath her. She slowly set Regina onto the floor on her back while the other woman kept her fist balled up around Emma's hair.

Regina felt the carpet beneath her as she panted and started to recover from her orgasm. She let go of Emma's hair and carelessly dropped her arm onto the floor beside herself.

Emma slowly moved in and out of Regina a few more times to make sure Regina had rode out the orgasm as long as possible then pulled out completely. She replaced her fingers with her tongue and lapped up every last bit of Regina.

Regina hummed as she kept her leg lazily draped over Emma's shoulder.

“You are amazing,” Regina slowly said with her eyes closed. “If you can fight as well as you can fuck, you're officially the best knight I've ever had.”

“Language, Madam Mayor,” Emma teased as she slid up Regina's body. “And when have you ever had knights?”

Regina's eyes shot open as she realized the slip up.

“Never. It was just a saying,” Regina corrected. “ _If_ I'd had knights and you fought well then you _would_ be the best knight I'd ever had.”

Emma smiled and pecked Regina on the cheek then, thankfully for Regina, changed the subject.

“ _Now_ can I get that strip tease slash lap dance,” Emma asked. “I think I've earned it.”

Regina grinned at Emma and ran a hand over tangled blonde tresses.

“Yes, dear. You certainly have, but I don't have music.”

“I do,” Emma grinned like the cat that ate the canary.

* * *

It only took five minutes for Emma to retrieve her iPod and a small portable speaker from her yellow bug before she returned to Regina's bedroom. When she rejoined the brunette, Regina had smoothed out her skirt and blouse and fixed her hair. She looked as composed as a person who hadn't just been sexually satisfied only minutes ago.

_'Cause it would be a crime not to always be so put together,_ Emma thought. 

“I've got over a hundred songs on this thing,” Emma said as she plugged the speaker into the headphone jack of her iPod. “A lot of them aren't songs you can dance to, but I've still got plenty of those.”

Emma set the speaker on Regina's nightstand and scrolled through her music library.

Regina came to stand behind Emma and looked over the woman's shoulder at the song selection.

“What the hell is all that,” Regina asked as she pointed to the list of songs Emma looked through.

“Modern music,” Emma tried to stifle a chuckle. “What do you listen to? Opera? Classical? Anything without lyrics and it has to be in a foreign language, right?”

Regina rolled her eyes.

“No, I've listened to plenty of music from the eighties as well. That's as modern as my music taste gets.”

Emma bit her bottom lip.

“Then things are about to get interesting,” Emma said as she turned back to her iPod and found an old song she hadn't listened to in years.

Emma selected the song and turned down the volume before the music softly played out of the single speaker. She set the iPod down on the nightstand next to the speaker and turned to face Regina. She smirked as she stepped toward the brunette.

Every step she took forward, Regina took one back. Emma reached out and started to unbutton Regina's blouse.

Regina licked her lips and grinned as she backed up toward the foot of the bed. When the vocals started, Regina pushed Emma onto the bed.

Emma plopped down and reached up to continue with Regina's buttons.

Regina pushed Emma's hands away with a grin and brought her own hands up to the third button on the blouse – where Emma had left off. She slowly unbuttoned the rest of her blouse while she listened to the song's lyrics.

Then the chorus started.

“ _I'm tellin' you to loosen up my buttons, babe. Uh huh. But you keep frontin'. Uhn. Sayin' what you gon' do to me. Uh huh. But I ain't seen nothin'. I'm tellin' you to loosen up my buttons, babe.”_

Regina stopped unbuttoning her blouse and shook her head.

“Now I see why you picked this song,” Regina said. “Though I don't particularly care for it.”

“Maybe I can change your mind,” Emma said as she put her hands on Regina's hips and pulled her closer. “Keep going.”

Regina chuckled and did as Emma said. She finished unbuttoning her blouse and slipped out of it. She let it fall to the floor and paid it absolutely no attention as she stood in a dark, lacy red bra.

“Bold choice,” Emma said as she appreciated Regina's newly exposed skin.

“Do you like it,” Regina asked, though she already knew the answer.

“Definitely,” Emma lustfully growled as she leaned forward and kissed just under Regina's bra.

She ran her tongue over the skin to leave it wet before she bit down then sucked. She licked the skin again to soothe the bite mark she hadn't put much force into in the first place.

“I thought this was supposed to be for you,” Regina said as she placed a finger under Emma's chin and lifted the blonde's attention up to her eyes.

“It is,” Emma replied. “And I like to touch.”

“Yes, you do,” Regina purred before she reached behind herself and unzipped her skirt.

Regina removed the skirt and let it fall to the floor just like her blouse.

Emma reached out and traced Regina's exposed hipbones with a fingertip or two. She trailed her fingers down and stopped them just above Regina's center.

Regina took Emma's hand and placed it in Emma's lap.

“You should refrain from touching me until after this little charade _you_ asked for,” Regina grinned from ear to ear. “Otherwise we won't finish.”

“Would that really be all that bad,” Emma asked as she reached out to touch her again.

“You'd want me to do it again on some future date,” Regina started. “And I will not do this again. It's now or never.”

Emma sighed and dropped her hands into her lap.

“Fine. You're right. Continue.”

Emma smiled up at Regina.

Regina reached around herself and unclasped her bra. She kept her breasts covered and the straps remained on her shoulders. She turned around and glanced over her shoulder at Emma, bra still in place.

Emma slid onto the edge of the bed and dipped her head down to the small of Regina's back. She kissed it before she dipped her head lower and kissed the top of the swell of Regina's ass.

Regina slowly lowered herself into Emma's lap with a roll of her hips in time with the beat of the song as it came to an end. On her way down, she slid the bra off and tossed it onto the floor.

She pushed her hips back and brushed against Emma's lower abdomen. She followed the rhythm of the music as the song changed to a slow, more sensual one. Regina looked over her shoulder at Emma again. Though she moved with confidence, her face showed otherwise. She gulped as she continued to grind against Emma, but her uncertainty stemmed from the new sensuality of their changing relationship. It wasn't something she was used to and she wasn't sure how to proceed.

She hadn't felt the way she did with Emma in a long time.

Emma saw the look on Regina's face and, though she wasn't much good at it herself, she tried to make Regina feel safe enough to at least regain her confidence. She wrapped her arms around Regina and groped her bare breasts.

Regina's breath hitched at the touch and she arched her back into it. She rolled her hips over and over against Emma. She didn't stop even as she sat completely naked in front of Emma Swan.

Emma pressed her lips to Regina's right shoulder blade. Her fingers brushed against Regina's breast and brought her hand behind Regina's back. She raised it to tuck a strand of hair behind the other woman's ear. As she ran her hand from Regina's ear down between her shoulder blades, she leaned in and kissed the base of Regina's neck.

Emma slid her other hand down Regina's front and used it to cup one of Regina's thighs. She squeezed it and pulled it away from the other one. She spread Regina's legs and fluidly maneuvered her knee between them.

Regina persisted with her slow grind, though she adjusted to move against Emma's jean-covered thigh instead of her lower abdomen.

Emma lifted her leg to match Regina's movements.

Regina moaned, but she tried to keep quiet.

“I'll ruin your skirt,” Regina said, though she didn't still her movements.

“I can always wash it later,” Emma said as she too didn't still her movements. “It'll be worth it.”

Regina gripped the sheets on either side of Emma. She pushed down hard on Emma's thigh the next time around and leaned back. She tilted her head to the side and fit Emma's head snugly between her face and her shoulder.

Emma had no problem taking the hint and started to kiss the crook of Regina's neck. At the same time she started to lick and bite, she kneaded one of Regina's breasts and slid her hand up Regina's thigh toward the woman's center.

Regina breathed out and emitted a small, quiet moan. She rolled her hips forward again, a bit faster than the beat of the song, to push Emma's hand closer to her center.

Emma grinned against Regina's neck and played with the woman's folds as she teasingly moved her fingers through them.

Regina reached back and harshly gripped a fistful of Emma's hair. She held the younger woman against her neck and moved one of her feet from the floor to the edge of the bed. She used it as leverage to help keep her rhythm while the other foot that remained on the floor grounded her.

Emma bit and sucked harder at Regina's pulse point as she slid two fingers up to the other woman's clit. She rubbed circles over the sensitive bundle and felt Regina shudder above her. She fought Regina's hold on her hair and licked from the woman's pulse point up to her ear with the flat of her tongue. She flicked the tip of it over Regina's earlobe before she nipped it with her teeth and sucked it between her lips.

Regina pushed herself back and pressed her body against Emma's. She tilted her head back and rested it on one of Emma's shoulders.

“Back,” Regina breathlessly demanded.

Emma didn't do anything other than slide her fingers down from Regina's clit to her opening.

Regina squirmed as she gave a high-pitched yelp. She had never made such a sound and she didn't think she wanted to make it again, though Emma seemed to know how to get foreign sounds out of her. Also, when Emma was the one to cause those sounds, part of her couldn't care she'd made them in the first place.

“Back,” Regina ordered more forcefully that time.

Emma remained in place, but decided to give Regina something to moan about when she didn't know what the brunette actually wanted. She dipped two fingers inside Regina and tuned her head to the woman's temple.

Regina moaned, just as Emma had tried to accomplish, and bucked her hips to push Emma's fingers deeper. She pressed herself harder against Emma and reached behind the blonde's head to clamp her fist around a bundle of the younger woman's hair. She tugged at Emma's hair and forced the other woman to tip her head back.

“Back,” Regina growled. “ _Lay_...back.”

Suddenly, it clicked. Emma grinned and laughed at herself for finally understanding. She leaned back as she traced circles over Regina’s nipple. She felt the nipple harden just as her back hit the bed.

“It's too bad you won't do this again,” Emma purred in Regina's ear. “Because I have a feeling is going to be extremely fun for both of us.”

Regina turned her head slowly enough to give Emma plenty of time to turn away a bit. She forced her way between Emma's neck and cheek and playfully nipped at Emma's earlobe.

Emma smiled and, for the first time in a long time, giggled. She pulled her fingers almost completely out of Regina before she slid them back in, knuckle deep, then matched pace with the rhythm of the song.

Regina kept Emma's earlobe between her lips even as she parted them and throatily whimpered in the other woman's ear. She moved Emma's hair to fan out in a tangled mess with the hand that refused to let go of blonde tresses. She rolled her hips in time with Emma and used her other hand to grip the sheets beside both her leg and Emma's.

She panted into Emma's ear with each thrust. She felt Emma move in and out, in and out, then on the next inward thrust the song changed over.

Emma curled her fingers as she waited for the next song to play and within seconds, a song with a faster beat came out of the speaker. She deviously grinned as she quickly adjusted to the new rhythm and slightly hurried her pace.

Regina arched her back and sped up the movement of her hips to keep up with Emma. She gasped and tried to swallow a loud moan when Emma pinched her nipple. Instead of vocalizing her pleasure like she normally would, she breathed out more audibly than usual.

Emma felt Regina's hot breath on her ear as the woman fought off moan after moan. She bit her bottom lip and swore to herself she would commit every song that played to memory. She wanted to remember every last breath, quieted moan, and stifled whimper from that night. She wanted to remember how Regina felt as she writhed on top of her, clenched around her fingers, kept her face buried in the crook of her neck. All of it.

Regina finally let go of Emma's hair and slid that hand to Emma's hand on her breast. She squeezed the blonde's hand, and in turn her own breast, before she guided that hand down her stomach. Both continued to move together as Regina brought Emma's hand to her clit. When the younger woman's fingertips swiped against sensitive nerves, Regina's breath hitched and she tightened her grip on the bed sheets.

She licked her lips between ragged breaths that were still directed at Emma's ear.

Emma took control and brought both their hands down toward Regina's opening. She wet her own fingers with Regina's arousal then brought them, along with Regina's hand, back up to the other woman's clit. She started to stroke and tease Regina's clit while the other woman kept her hand over top of hers.

Regina turned away from Emma and allowed her face to hover over the bed sheets. She released the sheets with her hand and slid her arm over the bed up toward her face. Just before the heel of her palm could press against her forehead, she turned back to Emma who had already turned her own head to look at Regina.

Green eyes met brown as Regina licked her lips again, her breathing still erratic.

In one look, Emma recognized something. Something she'd want to remember along with every other moment spent inside those bedroom walls with the Mayor of Storybrooke. A look. A look that told her what came next.

“Now?”

Regina nodded and squeezed Emma's hand before she emitted a strangled moan. She launched herself at Emma and nuzzled into the blonde's neck before she licked under Emma's ear, near her jawline, and bit down on the skin afterward. Her walls tightened around Emma's fingers while her harsh bite drove the blonde to arch her neck and squeeze her eyes shut.

Emma opened her mouth in a silent scream at the same time she heard Regina moan into the bite. In that moment, Regina had only done it to muffle the sounds of her orgasm.

Regina started to relax and eased her teeth out of Emma's skin.

“Sorry,” Regina whispered near Emma's ear.

Emma's expression relaxed and a grin spread across her face.

“Never...apologize...for something like that,” Emma said before she turned her head and locked eyes with Regina as the other woman pulled away from her neck.

Emma removed her fingers from Regina and laced the fingers of her other hand with Regina's. She pulled their joined hands away from Regina's sex altogether then wrapped her other arm around Regina's waist. In one swift movement, Emma rolled Regina over toward the head of the bed.

Regina gasped before she landed face down on the bed beneath Emma.

Emma smiled and laughed as she straddled Regina's hips from behind.

As quickly as Emma found herself on top, Regina bucked her hips toward Emma and nudged a leg between Emma's legs. She twisted her body to roll Emma onto her back while she also flipped herself around to face the blonde. Regina straddled Emma's leg once she'd managed to pin the younger woman down.

Regina smirked at Emma with a wicked gleam in her eyes before she slid off Emma's thigh and rolled onto her side next to Emma. She flashed a predatory grin at Emma and put a hand on Emma's thighs, her fingers on the woman's inner thigh. She slowly ran them up Emma's tights toward the younger woman's sex.

Emma's breath hitched as she looked at Regina and felt the brunette's hand inch closer to the apex of her legs. She brought her coated fingers – coated with the evidence of Regina's release – to her lips. She spread her legs for Regina the closer the woman got to her center while she sucked her fingers clean. She feasted on her fingers slowly, her eyes on Regina, as she savored the brunette's taste.

“So accommodating,” Regina purred. “As usual.”

Regina leaned in and trapped Emma's bottom lip between both of her own lips. She nipped then sucked it and pulled Emma's lip away from the woman's mouth.

Emma put a hand on the back of Regina's head and kept her close as she pressed her upper lip against Regina's in a soft kiss.

Regina immediately released Emma's bottom lip and pulled away from her to break the kiss just as her hand reached Emma's sex. She started to rub her hand over the material of Emma's black tights to tease her.

It worked.

“Regina,” Emma breathed out in a moan.

“Take off your tights,” Regina said as she continued to rub.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It was a joke. Regina knew that, but it didn't stop her from grinning. She hummed her approval of Emma's use of her precious title, one not held since she enacted the curse and created Storybrooke twenty-eight years ago.

Emma lifted her hips off the bed and began to pull down her tights.

Only then did Regina stop teasing Emma's center.

“Panties too, dear,” Regina told her.

Emma hooked her thumbs into her panties as she continued to push her tights down her thighs. Within a few seconds, her panties joined her tights when she pulled them down to her ankles. She kicked them off and they fell in a ball on the floor beside the bed.

Regina seductively chuckled as she leaned in and placed a hand on Emma's knee. In an instant, she pushed Emma's leg away from her and turned Emma onto her right side, toward the foot of the bed.

Emma looked over her shoulder at Regina and caught sight of the woman's ever present grin.

“Be good and keep quiet,” Regina purred before she slid two fingers into Emma from behind.

Emma gasped at the intrusion and gripped the sheets.

Regina started with a rapid pace as she rigorously pumped in and out of the younger woman.

Emma moaned and buried her face in the sheets to muffle the sound.

Regina watched her hand, though not visible under the cover of Emma's skirt, move in and out of the woman. The skirt that blocked her view of that particular part of Emma's anatomy had ridden up to expose part of the woman's backside. She used her free hand to push up the woman’s skirt and gripped one of Emma's cheeks.

Emma whimpered into the sheets.

Regina put a majority of her weight onto Emma's ass as she continued to move in and out of Emma and repositioned herself on the bed. She leaned in once repositioned and placed wet kiss on the cheek she had previously squeezed.

Emma moaned loudly into the sheets and reached down between her own legs underneath her skirt. She pressed down on her own clit and started to stroke it. She twitched then cried out into the sheets just as Regina bit down on her backside. She whimpered after her cry died down and felt her walls clench around Regina's fingers.

Regina's hand slithered up Emma's side, over her hip, and finally came to settle in tangled blonde curls. She gripped at Emma's hair as she continued to soothe each bite she made on Emma's ass with her tongue.

Emma turned away from the sheets and toward Regina's hand in her hair.

Regina let go of blonde tresses as Emma moved, but kept her hand in place near the woman's head.

Emma flicked her tongue over Regina's thumb several times almost like a puppy licking their owner's hand. After a few flicks, she brought Regina's entire thumb into her mouth and ran her tongue over it as she sucked it between her pursed lips.

Regina clenched her thighs together as she felt Emma's tongue stir up more desire in her. She whimpered into her next gentle bite into Emma's cheek. She splayed her hand over Emma's neck and side of her head as she curled her thumb and allowed Emma to continue to play with it.

Emma began to bob her head and take Regina's thumb in and out of her mouth while she persisted with her tongue. Her walls clenched around Regina's fingers again before she felt Regina drive harder and deeper into her. She carefully dragged her teeth over Regina's tongue and looked down at the brunette.

Regina opened her eyes and immediately found Emma's. She trailed wet kisses along Emma's backside, up toward Emma's hip, and then back down over Emma's front. She dipped her head toward Emma's clit while the younger woman continued to stroke it herself.

Emma opened her mouth and momentarily released Regina's thumb to breathe out heavily and emit a strangled moan. She rolled partially onto her back to give Regina room to roam before she rolled her hips toward Regina's mouth. She slowed her fingers over her clit the closer Regina's mouth got to her bundle of nerves.

Regina nudged Emma's hand away with the bridge of her nose and replaced the younger woman's fingers with her lips and tongue. She had to strain her neck a bit as she angled herself over Emma to be able to both enter the woman from behind as well as entertain Emma's clit.

Emma sucked Regina's thumb back into her mouth and swirled her tongue around to encircle it in her mouth.

Regina mimicked Emma's tongue with the use of her own on the other woman's clit.

Emma moaned with Regina's thumb in her mouth. She lifted her left leg and almost hit the back of Regina's neck with her injured thigh. After a brief pause, she decided to test Regina's actions and ran the flat of her tongue up and down in quick bursts of motion on one side of Regina’s thumb.

Regina felt Emma's leg pinch her shoulder and pulled away from Emma's clit.

Emma groaned in protest.

Regina stilled her movements inside Emma, her fingers wedged up to the knuckles in the other woman, and swiveled her head under Emma's raised left leg.

Emma whimpered when Regina stopped everything just to reposition herself. She couldn't tell what all Regina was doing, but she knew for certain that it prevented her own satisfaction at that moment.

Regina maneuvered herself in a way that draped Emma's left leg over her shoulder. Emma's ankle hung loosely over her back and her toes lightly pressed against the sheets.

Emma gasped and bucked her hips instantly when she felt Regina's mouth reclaim her clit. She then appraised Regina's new position and briefly scolded herself for having groaned at the loss of Regina's previous actions. It had been worth it to feel Regina yet again copy her own movements.

Regina licked Emma's clit in quick bursts of movement like Emma had done to her thumb before she had readjusted herself. She ran the flat of her tongue over Emma's clit, up and down.

Emma arched off the bed as Regina resumed her pace from before and bit her lip to silence herself. She squirmed under Regina's ministrations then let out a moan she could no longer contain.

Emma performed a few more tricks with her tongue on Regina's thumb and the brunette followed suit to apply the same movements to Emma's clit.

It took less than a minute after that for Emma to come undone. She bit down on Regina's thumb as she scrunched up her face and fought off a scream to express the pleasure she felt.

Regina curled and wriggled her fingers inside Emma as she kept them in place between tightly clenched walls. She kissed Emma's clit before she pulled away and sat up. She licked her lips as she looked at Emma.

Emma slowly pulled her mouth away from Regina's thumb and locked eyes with the other woman.

Regina moved her fingers from Emma and leaned in toward Emma's face.

“You'd better hope I can still sign paperwork at the office tomorrow without feeling pain.”

Regina crawled across the bed to close the distance between their locked gaze.

“Or I'll make sure you can't sit down for a week,” Regina finished before she harshly smacked Emma's ass.

The smack echoed in the room along with Emma's small yelp.

Regina rested her hands on either side of Emma's head on the bed and balanced herself on all fours.

At the same time Regina moved her hand from her ass to the space beside her on the bed, Emma rolled completely onto her back. She felt her bitten cheek sting from the slap Regina gave it and stared up into darkened brown eyes.

“You could go all night, couldn't you,” Emma breathlessly asked.

“Of course, dear. I have stamina. The question is...do _you_.”

Emma grinned

“That really shouldn't be a question. I've got plenty of stamina,” Emma replied.

“Is that so,” Regina grinned back.

Emma lunged into a partially sitting position and grabbed Regina's hips. She pulled Regina down on top of her as she fell onto her back once more on the bed then rolled over and pinned Regina down.

“Yeah, it is,” Emma said with a confident, wider grin than before.

Regina shoved Emma off of her with her hands on the blonde's shoulders. She bucked her hips and rolled Emma over.

Emma's head landed on a pillow at the head of the bed.

Regina straddled Emma's hips and fanned out her messy hair with a flick of her hands.

“Never a hair out of place,” Emma said as she stared up at Regina.

“I try,” Regina replied.

“Want to make a bet,” Emma asked.

“I don't think you're in a position to make a bet,” Regina smirked.

“I don't have to be on top to win,” Emma said.

To prove her point, Emma rested her hand against Regina's pelvic bone while she pressed the pad of her thumb on Regina's clit. She circled over it as she brought her other hand to Regina's ass. She squeezed one of Regina’s cheeks and smiled.

Regina fell forward and put her hands on either side of Emma's head. She hummed her approval of the other woman's actions as she smirked down at the blonde.

“Clearly,” Regina said as she leaned in and kissed Emma's neck.

Regina pulled back to add on to her statement.

“Fine. Another bet. What do you wager?”

“If I can fight off exhaustion better than you after an all night sexcapade, you have another week of dress up and lap dances.”

“I guess I could indulge your fantasies...since that won't be happening anyway. If I can get you to collapse before I drift off to my victory sleep, _you_ get to put on a show for me just like you made me do with this strip tease and lap dance tonight.”

“Well, I really don't think you can count what you did as a strip tease.”

Regina's expression immediately turned into shock, her mouth agape.

“Not that I didn't enjoy it,” Emma quickly added when she worried she had offended the brunette. “I did. I really did.”

Emma smiled again.

“I mean...I thought I made that clear,” Emma's smile transformed into a lopsided smirk.

Regina shook her head with a smile.

“Yes, you did,” Regina confirmed.

“It's a bet,” Emma agreed to Regina's terms. “Yes?”

Regina continued to smile as she pressed a single fingertip to the exposed part of Emma's chest – her sternum. She traced out three letters as she spoke them to Emma.

Y-E-S.

 


	24. Chapter 24

“ _Want to make a bet,” Emma asked._

“ _I don't think you're in a position to make a bet,” Regina smirked._

“ _I don't have to be on top to win,” Emma said._

_To prove her point, Emma rested her hand against Regina's pelvic bone while she pressed the pad of her thumb on Regina's clit. She circled over it as she brought her other hand to Regina's ass. She squeezed one of Regina’s cheeks and smiled._

_Regina fell forward and put her hands on either side of Emma's head. She hummed her approval of the other woman's actions as she smirked down at the blonde._

“ _Clearly,” Regina said as she leaned in and kissed Emma's neck._

_Regina pulled back to add on to her statement._

“ _Fine. Another bet. What do you wager?”_

“ _If I can fight off exhaustion better than you after an all night sexcapade, you have another week of dress up and lap dances.”_

“ _I guess I could indulge your fantasies...since that won't be happening anyway. If I can get you to collapse before I drift off to my victory sleep, you get to put on a show for me just like you made me do with this strip tease and lap dance tonight.”_

“ _Well, I really don't think you can count what you did as a strip tease.”_

_Regina's expression immediately turned into shock, her mouth agape._

“ _Not that I didn't enjoy it,” Emma quickly added when she worried she had offended the brunette. “I did. I really did.”_

_Emma smiled again._

“ _I mean...I thought I made that clear,” Emma's smile transformed into a lopsided smirk._

_Regina shook her head with a smile._

“ _Yes, you did,” Regina confirmed._

“ _It's a bet,” Emma agreed to Regina's terms. “Yes?”_

_Regina continued to smile as she pressed a single fingertip to the exposed part of Emma's chest – her sternum. She traced out three letters as she spoke them to Emma._

_Y-E-S._

For all the times Emma had ever felt unwanted and abandoned, that night with Regina easily eradicated those doubts about her worth from her mind. And though Emma swore she would never rely on sex to communicate that type of intimate feelings, the way Regina grabbed at her for dear life did just that. She felt wanted and needed and, if it were true enough for her to say it...loved.

But that was too far a leap considering the nature of their new relationship. Appreciated seemed a more fitting word since they'd agreed to be exclusive only a day or two ago. Regardless of being able to put into words how that particular night with Regina affected her, what they did felt good. It felt right.

The music on Emma's iPod had stopped about thirty minutes prior, but neither woman noticed. All other sounds aside from those they made together long forgotten, Emma rubbed her clit against Regina's without a single thing between them. Her lips hovered above Regina's lips and brushed occasionally due to their rocking movement. She panted against Regina's mouth and stared straight into dark brown eyes below her.

Emma swallowed hard before she heavily exhaled against smeared red lips. She tightly closed her fists around the thin, white bed sheet with her hands on either side of Regina's biceps. Without any ability to control herself, she whimpered when she rolled her hips again and pressed down on her overly sensitive clit.

Their eyes could have bored holes into each other given how focused they were on the other. They had certainly spent a few different times staring at each other during such activities, but to both of them those times only felt like a build up. All those times before seemed to be taste of the strong, powerful emotions they then held in their gazes. Nothing compared to what they saw in each other then. But nothing prior to that time had become irrelevant because of it.

“Em- Em-muh,” Regina breathlessly panted as she ran a hand up the other woman's arm until she gripped blonde hair and a tensed shoulder. “Can't...hold...on.”

Emma moaned at Regina's confession and slowed herself mid-grind to hold out the painful to the nerves yet altogether pleasurable sensation.

Regina dug her nails into Emma's shoulder and incidentally tugged on Emma's hair. She made half-crescent impressions on pale skin and pressed the heel of her foot into Emma's ass. She brought the younger woman completely down on top of her and arched into her. Their sweat covered bodies and wet centers slipped against each other just as Regina pushed her head back into the pillow and gave in.

She squeezed her eyes shut and Emma's first name ripped its way out of her throat. She hugged the younger woman to her when warm liquid pooled between her thighs and tangled a hand in messy blonde tresses.

To feel Regina let go like that against her had Emma tumble over the edge less violently than the brunette, but still gave her the feeling that she'd been kneed in the groin. For the first time since she started sleeping with the Mayor of Storybrooke, Emma didn't utter a single name or title as she reached climax. Her lips were parted in a silent moan against Regina's chest just below the bruise she'd given the woman's collarbone a couple days earlier.

Regina felt Emma go limp on top of her. It something that would have made her cry due to the images of her past life it normally brought to the surface for her, but with Emma she hummed as she wrapped her weak legs around the blonde like a koala bear.

“God, Regina,” Emma breathed out against Regina's exposed chest. “That was...”

Emma trailed off and after a minute of comfortable silence, Regina voiced her own thoughts on their most recent round.

“That was quite a performance, My Knight,” Regina smiled as she lazily combed her fingers through Emma's hair.

“Only the best for you, My Queen,” Emma replied before she chastely kissed between Regina's breasts.

“You aim to please.”

“Mhmm,” Emma smiled and wriggled around in Regina's hold until she managed to move a hand between their legs.

Regina groaned as Emma shifted. Emma brushed against her clit and caused a new wave of pain to wrack her body. Any slight pressure there only served to torture her at that point.

“Ready to go again,” Emma asked as she cupped Regina's sex.

When the heel of Emma's hand lightly pushed against her clit, she gasped.

“No,” Regina admittedly with her eyes closed.

“Oh, thank god,” Emma breathed out her relief.

Regina's eyes popped open to stare inquisitively at the other woman.

“I wasn't sure I could handle another orgasm,” Emma continued with a smile. “Besides, my fingers are starting to cramp.”

Regina huskily chuckled, her voice filled with the pleasure she'd previously experienced.

“Yes, I had noticed you switched to your non-dominate hand the last time. Nice dexterity, by the way,” Regina commented.

“Why thank you, Your Majesty,” Emma tiredly grinned. “Guess I can put ambidextrous on my resume now.”

“I hope you're not looking for new work, dear. I have no intention of firing you so if you're updating your resume, it's because you're quitting.”

Emma weakly laughed, her exhaustion evident.

“Don't you worry, Madam Mayor. I haven't made any plans to leave the station.”

“So...shall we call this a tie then,” Regina asked.

Emma perked up similar to that of a young child on their birthday with expectations of presents at Regina's words. She paused a moment before she rolled onto her side next to Regina and the other woman released her from her legs.

“We've never had a tie before,” Emma said.

“I know,” Regina smiled at her.

“Wow. I- I guess it is a tie.”

“Congratulations, I think we've just settled the score.”

“Mm. No,” Emma shook her head. “I'm sure if we tally it up, this would be the only exception. I don't think I ever got even for the six or so orgasms you forced me to have in the backseat of your Mercedes. Plus, there was another night you did something very similar to that if I'm not mistaken.”

“Are you calling me the victor,” Regina smugly though somewhat incredulously asked.

“I'm not saying that at all,” Emma smirked. “I'm just saying we're a long way from settling the score.”

Regina raised an intrigued eyebrow.

“It's not like either of us is going anywhere, right? We have plenty of nights to try and get even with each other,” Emma elaborated. “Oh, which reminds me.”

Regina watched Emma pull herself into a sitting position and lean against the headboard. Emma checked the time on the alarm clock behind Regina before she continued.

“Can I spend the night again tonight?”

Regina partially rolled over and twisted her body just enough to read the digital read out of the clock. It was two thirty in the morning. She turned back to Emma with a grin.

“If you can come up with a lie to tell Henry,” Regina stated. “Is there a reason you want to stay over or are you just asking because you like being with me?”

“Both.”

“Oh?”

“Mary Margaret's been seeing this guy. David something or other.”

Regina tensed at that information, but Emma didn't seem to notice while Regina kept her expression neutral.

“He woke up from a coma not too long ago and has been staying at the hospital the last couple weeks,” Emma continued. “But now they're releasing him and he doesn't have any family or a place to stay. So she offered him the apartment for a place to crash until he finds something.”

Regina swallowed and tried to find a way to keep Emma from seeing her worry. It surprisingly wasn't as hard to do when words just started to effortlessly pour out of her.

“And that's a problem for you?”

Usually, it took some planning and feigned concern for Regina to react to hearing such a thing, but with Emma, a normal response came naturally.

“She's been _seeing_ him, Regina. She says he'll just be staying on the couch, but her bed is like, two feet from it. I'm not naïve to think they won't go at it while I'm trying to sleep upstairs.”

“Well, you can stay here.”

“Thank you,” Emma said as she slouched down in the bed again and leaned in.

She gave Regina a peck on the cheek and wiggled around until she found a comfortable position next to the other woman.

A silence fell over them for a few minutes and Regina thought Emma might have already fallen asleep with green eyes closed in front of her.

“Emma,” Regina softly asked.

“Hmm.”

“You know Henry's book?”

“Yeah.”

“How he thinks...I'm the...Evil Queen?”

Emma opened her eyes and frowned. She propped herself up on her elbow and cupped the side of Regina's face. She swiped her thumb back and forth over Regina's bottom lip a few times and started to speak.

“He's just a kid. He gets mad at you and then he finds a way to be okay with being mad at you because he doesn't like getting angry with his mom. His way is thinking your the 'Evil Queen',” Emma explained with air quotes.

“But what if I was her,” Regina quietly asked, afraid of the answer. “Would you...still want to be with me?”

“Regina, you're not her. Like I told Henry, you have your moments,” Emma paused to lightly laugh. “But I look at you and I don't understand how he can see you that way. I look at you and I see Regina.”

Regina slowly smiled. It seemed a little pained, but mostly happy.

“But you are a Queen, Regina,” Emma continued. “Even though fairy tales don't exist. You knighted me and everything, remember?”

Regina laughed and felt the tension leave her.

“I remember.”

“And Queens need their beauty sleep so...goodnight, Regina,” Emma said and leaned in.

Emma chastely kissed Regina on her neck just under her jaw, but didn't stop at a single kiss. She repeated her actions from earlier in the day and kissed Regina over and over until she heard the woman giggle.

“Stop,” Regina said between giggles. “Em-ma.”

Regina laughed through her words and made pathetic attempts to swat Emma away. Her weak efforts only showed how much didn't really want Emma to stop and both women knew it.

Emma smiled into her next few kisses and gripped Regina's hip as the other woman squirmed.

“Emma. ...Emma!”

Emma pulled away and bit her bottom lip as she smirked. She lifted herself up just enough to look into Regina's eyes then said, “Maybe _I_ won. I got you to call me Emma.”

But before Regina could respond to that, Emma dipped her head and resumed kissing her neck. More giggles erupted from her and she'd never felt so light, so weightless, until then.

“Sta-hop,” Regina laughed and tried with a bit more effort to swat Emma away. “A minute ago you were drained. Go to _sleep_!”

Regina smacked Emma's arm and the impact echoed in the room.

“Ow,” Emma laughed, a wide smile on her face as she pulled back again. “Geez. That's gonna leave a hand print. It's not like I'm doing anything you don't like.”

Regina shook her head with a smile.

“Well, I'm tired...and ticklish and I'd like to get some sleep before getting up for work in about four hours.”

“Oh, you're ticklish, are you,” Emma deviously stated with a gleam in her eye that suggested her temptation to act on that new piece of information.

“Miss Swan, if you even _think_ -”

Regina had tried to be stern. She even pointed a warning finger at Emma, but the blonde's mind had already been made up and her devilish curiosity won out.

Emma danced her fingers over Regina's side, across her hip, down her her left thigh, and finally she found one of other woman's sensitive spots. She tapped her fingers against bare skin on Regina's inner thigh. The tapping didn't elicit anything more than an eye roll and annoyance from the Mayor, but she grazed her fingertips across Regina's skin in a slow, sensual movement and caused Regina's leg to jerk.

Regina gasped and tried to move away from Emma's teasing touch. She giggled again, but it was short and quiet.

“There it is,” Emma proudly grinned and started to slide her fingers up and down the back of her inner thigh. “How is it that you never laughed any of the other times I touched you here?”

Regina's face twitched several times from a normal, neutral expression to a smile brought on by the tickling. She rolled onto her back in an attempt to free herself from such attention, but Emma moved with her and persisted.

“You've never...” Regina started with laughter in voice. “Touched me there.”

Emma frowned.

“Really? I thought I had.”

Regina bit her bottom lip through a wide smile then uncontrollably laughed as she kicked at the bed and squirmed toward the headboard. In response to Emma's comment, she shook her head against the pillow under her head.

“No. Close...but not there.”

Emma hummed as she continued to run her fingers along the sensitive skin. She looked at Regina as though she were scheming some master plan then slid down the bed. She pushed Regina's leg up and tilted her head as she maneuvered herself beneath the raised leg. She draped the leg over her shoulder and leaned in to place a chaste kiss on the spot she had previous tickled.

Regina whimpered and tensed her leg, which squeezed at Emma's neck and shoulder.

“Emma,” Regina reached down toward the woman and gripped the blonde's outstretched forearm. “Stop.”

Emma pulled her arm toward herself so that she could take Regina's hand in hers. She laced their fingers and pushed Regina's hand onto the bed to rest beside them then pushed that hand into the mattress.

Emma kissed Regina's thigh again and again and moved inward from where she found the brunette to be ticklish.

Regina squeezed Emma's hand harder with each kiss that caused her to laugh.

Emma smiled into her next kiss when she moved closer to Regina's center.

The shivering stopped and Regina's laughter died down. Her giggles turned into moans and her attempts to squirm away from Emma became an arched back and bucked hips for a stronger touch.

Emma pulled away when she felt the change in Regina's behavior and smiled with her head still between the woman's legs.

Regina loosened her grip on Emma's hand, but didn't fight her way out of the blonde's grasp. She grinned down at a confident looking Emma.

“You must be feeling pretty good about yourself right now.”

“Oh yeah,” Emma replied with a smirk.

“Well, my dear, you've successfully found my weakness,” Regina said before she dropped her tone and mumbled under her breath. “One of them at least.”

Emma hadn't caught the last part of Regina's statement.

“Don't worry,” Emma started as she slid up Regina's body and brought Regina's leg with her as she moved. “I won't tell a soul.”

Emma lifted their joined hands from the bed and kissed Regina's knuckles. The tips of her long, blonde hair lightly brushed Regina's breasts and upper arms.

Regina squirmed again beneath Emma from the pleasurable yet painfully teasing tingling she felt in her neck and the places where Emma's hair touched her.

“Did I find another spot,” Emma quietly asked with a grin.

“No,” Regina's voice came out almost as a strained purr. “It's just a really light touch.”

Emma chuckled.

“So...inner thighs and light touches. I'll make sure to remember that.”

Regina rolled her eyes.

“Do you always sound like a lovesick teenager when you're in a relationship,” Regina asked.

“I've only been a lovesick teenager once,” Emma replied. “And back then I _was_ a teenager.”

“Nice to see your maturity level has changed over the years,” Regina deadpanned.

Emma laughed.

“You don't like this new side to me?”

“I wasn't aware this was new.”

“It's new to you.”

“Perhaps, but I suppose I should have expected it.”

“Are you calling me a child,” Emma asked as she feigned offense.

“You eat like one, talk like one, _dress_ like one. I don't see how that wouldn't very well _make_ you one,” Regina said with a grin.

Emma rolled her eyes with a smile.

“Goodnight, Regina,” Emma said as she settled into the bed in the space beside the other woman.

“Goodnight...Emma,” Regina said as she rolled partially onto Emma and cuddled up with the blonde.

Regina draped an arm over Emma's waist and snuggled the younger woman closer after she slipped a calve between her legs. She nestled her head in the crook of Emma's neck and allowed the woman to wrap an arm around her in a warm embrace.

* * *

After an almost sleepless night thanks to her and Emma's evening activities as well as another nightmare, Regina opened the door to an establishment she preferred not to frequent. The bell on the door clanged to announce her presence and within a minute, the familiar and disliked man she loathed visiting limped into the front of the pawn shop.

“Mayor Mills, what a surprise,” he grinned. “How may I help you?”

“I need this to end,” Regina said without premise.

“Need what to end,” he made his question into a statement.

“I don't want to hurt anyone and I...I'm afraid the more I prolong things, the harder it will be if the truth comes out.”

“What truth would that be, dearie?”

Regina glared at him.

“I have a feeling you already know.”

“I couldn't possibly know anything you haven't told me.”

She scoffed.

“Save it,” she coldly snapped. “I- Maybe I should give in.”

“Give in to what?”

“If I just let it break, they might not hate me as much as my dreams suggest.”

Though she spoke aloud, she truly only spoke to herself.

“It wouldn't be completely horrible if I just...”

She trailed off and Mr. Gold scrutinized the woman's body language and tried to read between the lines to understand just what it was the Mayor was talking about. He slowly started to piece everything together and took a step toward his counter.

“Maybe she'll understand if I just explain,” Regina quietly and hopefully said.

Gold's eyes lit up in realization and he took another step forward with a grin that slowly spread across his face.

“She,” he repeated Regina's choice of pronoun. “And who might _she_ be?”

Regina's eyes flicked up and met Gold's gaze. She lost a little color in her face as she looked at him and realized just how she'd slipped up.

“That is none of your concern,” Regina growled after she took a moment to hide her worry over revealing as much as she had.

“Well, it is my concern if it means breaking the curse, dearie,” he slowly said, a knowing grin in place.

Regina's jaw dropped.

“You...you do remember!”

“Of course, dearie. It is _my_ curse after all. You didn't think I'd make a curse that would bring us to this _specific_ land just to make myself forget why I brought myself here, did you?”

“What- You _wanted_ me to enact the curse.”

“Well, I don't just give away curses for the fun of it,” he shrugged in his infamously impish way. “Now, tell me, dearie. Who is she?”

Regina shook her head.

“It doesn't matter.”

“I believe it does,” he said as he stepped out from behind the counter.

“It doesn't matter because that fleeting moment of doubt is gone. I won't let the curse break... _Rumple_.”

“On the contrary, dearie. Emma will break the curse one way or another. I made sure of it.”

Regina huffed and spun on her heels before she briskly headed for the exit.

“I don't know why I bothered coming here,” she said.

“Because you need help. The question is, how can _I_ help you?”

Regina stopped with her hand on the door knob and peered over her shoulder at him.

“But I think we both know you were hoping I'd remember because I did after all _give_ you the curse. The only one adept at answering your questions about it would be me.”

At that, Regina turned back to Gold with an icy glare directed his way. She took three steps toward him and pointed.

“You want the curse broken, don't you.”

He just stood there and waited for her to go off on him like she usually did.

“Why?”

He took in a deep breath and clenched then unclenched his fists around the handle of his cane before he answered.

“Because I'm in search of something. Something outside of Storybrooke.”

“And you think that by breaking the curse you'll be able to find it?”

“Of course. The curse made it so that none of us can leave town. Once it's broken, that rule no longer applies.”

“Like hell I'm going to give you what you want.”

“And yet, it's now something you seem to want too. I wonder...what made you change your mind? Surely when the curse breaks everyone will be out for your blood. Why risk your life, your power, just to break the curse you so desperately sought from me?”

Regina gritted her teeth and balled up her fists at her sides.

“Per chance does it have anything to do with the woman you mentioned? You don't have many friends here, dearie.

“In fact, the only person I've seen you hang around from time to time is Kathryn from the nail salon. But you only seem to talk when babysitting Henry is an issue or you need a good manicure. It couldn't be Mary Margaret for, well, obvious reasons. No, no. Then there's the Sheriff, but...in case you haven't figured it out, she's the Savior.”

Then, as if all the pieces of the puzzle finally fit, Gold slowly said, “Oh.”

His grin went from twisted to horrifyingly devilish.

“She's the only person I've ever seen you fight so hard against. And yet, I haven't seen much fighting lately.”

Regina just stood there and let him figure it out for himself. Her expression was the only thing to change with each piece of evidence laid out on the table and the final conclusion being voiced as he talked through his suspicions. By the time he stumbled upon the no-longer-fighting-with-Emma part, she looked almost sad to have been discovered.

“Henry doesn't seem so miserable. And I believe the two of them have spent plenty of time together. ...Especially since poor Graham's untimely death.”

Regina gulped and looked down at the hardwood floor, ashamed.

“I'd heard the rumors about him and Miss Swan. I may not get out much, but small town gossip gets around. Besides, you and I are both aware that I know a lot of things regardless of my physical presence.

“No matter how I know, I _do know_ that she still showed up at the diner with bruises on her neck even _after_ Graham's passing. Curious, isn't it?”

Regina shook her head and tried to play it off as casual information that held no importance.

“She's not the most conventional woman as I'm sure you can tell. She could have gotten around,” Regina said.

“Ah, yes. I did manage to see her on the cover of the Daily Mirror. Miss Lucas is quite an interesting choice for her to be publicly affectionate with, don't you agree? Especially if she wants to keep seeing Henry. Ruby's hardly the best person to find a partner in when there's a child involved.”

Regina's jealousy took over at the mere mention of Emma and Ruby.

“Ms. Lucas is hardly anything more than eye candy.”

“Ooh,” Gold chuckled. “It appears I've struck a nerve.”

Regina closed her mouth and kept a steady gaze with him as she swallowed. Her eyes, for once, didn't give anything away.

“Emma's quite the character, though, isn't she,” Gold continued. “I'd even use the word fascinating. Edgy and yet still feminine. Careful yet still untamed. She knows how to ignite even the smallest of fires and turn it into something so grand and dangerous. She certainly knows how to get to _you_.”

“As can you,” Regina growled.

“Ah, yes. But I've known you for some time now. I also trained you and can spot desperate souls. Our history makes it easy for me to press all the right buttons with you, dearie. But Miss Swan, she's only been here a short while. How is it that she manages to get under your skin?”

“Same as I know how to get under yours.”

“I'm man enough to admit the only way you've succeeded in that is by knowing my weaknesses. But how could she know any of yours?”

Regina gulped and averted her eyes.

“Unless...she _is_ your weakness,” Gold said as he closed most of the distance between them in the shop.

Regina refused to look at him.

“That's it, isn't it. You care for her.”

“She only knows of Henry. _He's_ my weakness.”

“That's not what your eyes say, dearie,” Gold sounded more like Rumpelstiltskin than his cursed identity.

“I don't care for her,” Regina lied as she coldly looked at Gold.

“Liar.”

“Call me whatever you like, she's nothing more than trouble. And clearly, you can't help me so we're done here.”

Regina turned and headed toward the front door once again.

“Well, it doesn't really matter what you feel for her. She'll never return those feelings.”

“She's done plenty to suggest otherwise,” Regina admitted without any other thought than the flashes of memory from all her and Emma's time spent together.

She stopped in her tracks the second the words left her mouth.

“And the truth comes out,” Gold smugly said and caused Regina to turn toward him yet again.

“I don't love her,” she furiously insisted.

He put a hand to his chest in feigned shock.

“Who said anything about love?”

Regina sucked in a large amount of air and her chest heaved with her more erratic breathing. She rigidly stood before him even though her shoulders appeared tense with an invisible weight atop them.

“Is that why you're asking about the curse,” he curiously asked.

“I'm not asking anymore,” she quietly said then tried to leave for the third time.

With her back to him, Gold decided to have the last word as he liked to do in finality of their meetings.

“She'll never love you,” he told her. “Not the real you. When the curse breaks, she'll see you for who you _really_ are.”

Her throat burned from holding back tears as her eyes watered. She opened the door and the bell above it clanged again.

Gold chuckled before Regina slammed the door shut.

* * *

She hadn't needed a manicure. Not really. Her nails may have needed trimmed since her last appointment, but that could have easily been remedied at home. But she'd gone to the nail salon anyway.

“Regina,” Kathryn smiled when the brunette entered.

“Hello, Kathryn,” Regina forced a friendly smile, her eyes red and puffy after her recent conversation with Gold.

“What can I do for you?”

“Cut down my nails and give me a pedicure?”

Kathryn frowned and tilted her head to the side as Regina set her purse on the front counter and opened it.

Regina looked up when she realized Kathryn had gone quiet and noticed the woman's expression.

“What?”

“You've never asked me like you're worried your request is a burden to me.”

“Oh. Well, we _are_ friends. I'd hate to be inconsiderate,” Regina answered, sounding a little off her game.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. Why?”

“You don't sound like yourself.”

“I...” Regina trailed off as she thought over her next words. “It's been a very long day.”

“And it's not even noon,” Kathryn said in a somewhat impressed tone. “Must be difficult being Mayor.”

“Indeed,” Regina replied as she dug into her purse and plucked out her wallet. “Think we can talk over nail care?”

Kathryn smiled and stepped behind the register to start a transaction.

“Of course.”

Regina paid for Kathryn's handiwork before she even sat down, but that was how it had always been. She knew Kathryn would do a fantastic job and it tended to make her look like a trustworthy Mayor.

The two of them fell into their routine whenever Regina stopped by for an appointment. The salon never had many customers, but it did get business. There were only two other women who worked there, but Regina never saw them. She knew Kathryn's schedule and always came in when she knew it would most likely be the two of them.

That routine made it much easier for Regina to discuss what she had to with the blonde.

But, even after a full morning of looking over paperwork with a sore thumb, she hadn't hidden the evidence of her night with Emma.

“Oh my god,” Kathryn exclaimed and nearly jumped out of her seat at the sight of the dark purple bite mark on Regina's thumb. “What _happened_?”

Regina's eyes widened when she followed Kathryn's line of sight.

“Nothing,” Regina quickly answered. “I...spilled something and it got all over my hand. I licked it clean, but Henry surprised me and I accidentally bit myself.”

“Ah. Looks pretty bad,” Kathryn said as she took only seconds before she accepted the lie.

“It's just like any other bruise. Irritating but not too painful unless you poke at it, or in this case if you move your thumb around too much.”

Kathryn nodded and started to buff Regina's fingernails.

“So...” Regina carefully, strategically started as the woman continued to work on her nails. “Are you seeing anyone?”

Kathryn looked up from the nail she worked on to regard Regina, taken aback.

“I'm flattered, Regina, but I'm not interested in women that way,” Kathryn replied.

“Oh, no. I'm not asking because I'd like to see you.”

“Oh.”

“I only ask because I noticed a handsome man walking around town the other day. I believe his name is David.”

“Sounds familiar,” Kathryn said as she looked to actually contemplate where she'd heard the name before. “Oh, he's been around with that woman. Mary Margaret, right?”

“Yes. She and him seemed to have formed a friendship.”

“Well, I don't want to get in the way of anything,” Kathryn shook her head.

“Nonsense. I'm sure they're not an item. If you'd like I can even talk to him, see if he'd be interested in going on a date with you.”

“That's nice of you. Really. I just...I don't think it's a great idea. Maybe someone else?”

“Fine. Don't date him, but will you at least just meet him? I was planning on talking to him later today, introduce myself. You should come with me and get acquainted.”

Kathryn made a sour face and stared at Regina in a long moment of awkward silence.

“I...guess that would be okay. I mean, there's no harm in making new friends, right?”

Regina grinned, though she made it look more like a friendly a smile.

“Right. So, after we finish here, how about you and I pay him a visit?”

* * *

Emma dropped Henry off at Regina's house and drove back to the apartment she shared with Mary Margaret. Since she knew she would be staying the night, she figured she could plan ahead and grab a few things like a fresh pair of clothes and her toothbrush.

She could have gone to the apartment in the morning before work like she had before, but she barely managed to keep her eyes open when she drove from Regina's to the apartment then to the station. In fact, she surprised herself most days when she actually managed to drag herself out of the apartment to make the drive to the station. Usually, she had to resist the urge to crawl into her waiting bed for a few more hours of sleep, especially since sex with Regina meant pulling near all-nighters.

Instead of waiting until morning, however, she chose to avoid a potential accident due to droopy eyes and sleep hazed vision. Just before she headed up the stairs to her small bedroom loft, her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket. She pulled it out to see she had a next text message from Mary Margaret and read the message on her way to her room.

**“** _**Are you busy tonight?”** _

Emma frowned and typed out a response on the way to her dresser.

“ _Dinner with Henry. Why?”_

The next message was almost immediate.

**“** _**After dinner. Girls night?”** _

Emma grabbed an outfit and stuffed it into a small overnight bag before she replied.

“ _I can't.”_

**“** _**Why?”** _

“ _Does it matter?”_

Emma felt the phone vibrate with a new message, but didn't read it yet. Instead, she grabbed her toothbrush then had a thought and grinned. She went straight to her dresser and dug deep into her underwear drawer. She pulled out a rubber toy she hadn't used since before she arrived in Storybrooke. She grinned and put it in her bag before she grabbed her phone and looked at the message.

**“** _**I need a drink. :(”** _

Emma stared at the phone, confused but concerned. She tossed her bag onto her bed and replied.

“ _Is everything okay?”_

Emma stood and waited in front of her bed, her bag packed, for a new text. It took about a minute before the next message came in.

**“** _**I'm sad.”** _

“ _Where are you?”_

**“** _**Rabbit Hole.”** _

“ _TWO drinks before I get there! I'll be there after dinner. DON'T drink anymore than that. Okay?”_

Emma waited for Mary Margaret's response for another five minutes, but it never came. She zipped up her bag and drove back to Regina's house.

When Regina opened the door, she smiled at Emma, but the blonde didn't look as happy and instantly her face fell.

“Emma? What's wrong?”

“I had this weird conversation with Mary Margaret. She sounds...off,” Emma frowned, her phone in her hand and her bag draped over her shoulder.

“I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, dear. Come in and have some dinner,” Regina extended an arm to pull Emma into the house, but didn't touch the woman. “I made Henry's favorite fun food.”

Emma took Regina's cue and stepped inside. When Regina said “fun food,” she smiled and lightly laughed.

“Tacos,” Emma asked.

“Mhmm,” Regina smiled and shut the door behind Emma.

Regina took Emma's bag and set it by the staircase then grabbed Emma's wrist and pulled her in for a chaste kiss below her jaw.

“I have a surprise for tonight,” Emma said when Regina pulled back from the kiss.

“Really,” Regina asked in a thick purr.

Emma nodded, unable to form words after hearing that tone from the other woman.

“What is it,” Regina said as she ran her fingers up one side of Emma's jacket zipper.

She grabbed the collar of the jacket and yanked Emma closer until all space between them became non-existent. Their lips brushed as she made their noses teasingly touch.

“It's a _surprise_. Telling you would go against the definition of that word and all spontaneity would be lost.”

Regina grinned and throatily chuckled, but she still didn't pull away. She kept her fist firmly clutched around the collar of the red leather jacket with their lips so very close.

Emma's eyes moved from lustfully darkened brown eyes to temptingly plump lips. She slowly pushed forward, but she never got to connect her lips to Regina's.

Regina released her hold on Emma's jacket and took a step back before she turned away. She walked toward the dining room with click after click of her heels and looked over her shoulder after a few steps.

“Coming, Miss Swan,” she asked with desire in her eyes and a prideful grin.

Emma smirked then followed after her.

Within a few minutes, the three of them were situated at the table in what could then be called their usual places. Several minutes after that, Emma and Henry had caught Regina up on their day at the station. At that point, the conversation fell flat and no one had a single thing to say.

Henry played with his third taco of the night and cracked the hard shell. The meat spilled out onto his plate and got Regina's attention.

“Henry,” she scolded with shock and annoyance.

Emma laughed.

Henry smiled at Regina, which elicited a natural smile from the woman.

“Don't play with your food,” Regina told him through her smile.

“That's not playing with my food,” he started as he broke more of the shell then looked at Emma as he scooped meat onto his finger. “This is.”

Emma didn't act fast enough, still unclear of Henry's intent, and got hit on one side of her face with the meat Henry flung at her. Her mouth hung open and she sat frozen with her eyes focused on her laughing son. She swiped the meat away then glared at him before a devious grin spread across her face.

Regina watched with much interest as Emma grinned and moved quickly. The blonde cracked the hard shell of her own taco in half and grabbed a fist full of the meat and toppings inside it.

Emma threw her food at Henry and loudly laughed when it splattered across his entire face.

“Oh, it's on,” Henry declared with a smile and dug both hands into his food and haphazardly tossed it at Emma.

Emma ducked behind the table, still in her chair, and the food covered the table and her back. Some even managed to get in her hair, which Regina noted within seconds of Emma sitting up again.

Emma reached for the remaining tacos in the center of the table and Henry followed suit. Like two kids going after dodgeballs at the beginning of a game, they each grabbed two tacos – one for each hand – and shot out of their chairs.

Regina's eyes went wide when she realized the mess the two were about to make, but couldn't stop them before they both defensively turned their bodies away from each other and threw a taco at the other.

They laughed as meat, lettuce, and sour cream tumbled down each of their arms. In Henry's case, he had bits of Pico de Gallo on him as well while in Emma's case, she received a chunk of diced tomatoes.

“Children!” Regina scolded.

Emma and Henry turned to Regina and their laughter died, but neither one could stop smiling. After a few seconds, they exchanged a look then simultaneously threw their last tacos at Regina.

Before the tacos left their hands, they each managed to crush the shell and made it easier for the food inside to coat both sides of Regina's face. Some of it fell onto her chest while the shells and some remnants of the its previous contents landed in her lap.

A tense silence filled the room and Emma and Henry stood still as they waited to see Regina's reaction.

After several long seconds, Regina gracefully got up and reached down for the half eaten taco on her plate. She placed two fingers inside the shell, one on each wall, then pushed them outward. She cracked the shell open and pushed the separated walls flat onto the plate then watched Emma.

Emma glanced up at Regina and the grin told her the woman had purposefully cracked the shell like that to get to her. She saw Regina's fingers start to move again and looked down to watch what Regina did next.

Regina grinned and slid the same two fingers used to open the shell over the food inside. She curled her fingers and scooped up whatever she could.

Emma gulped and her cheeks burned as she watched Regina's fingers. Her chest flushed a rosy red that indicated her sudden arousal.

“Whoever I tag first gets stuck cleaning this up,” Regina said, still grinning.

“Uh oh,” Emma said with wide eyes as she looked across the table at Henry. “Run.”

Henry and Emma bolted from the table. Henry rushed into the living room and Emma headed for the foyer.

Regina went after Henry first and cornered him at one end of the couch while she waited from the other end for him to run. They remained at a stand off of sorts while Emma watched near the staircase with a smile.

Henry looked left and right for a few minutes before he chose a direction and sprinted back toward the dining room.

Regina bent at the waist and reached out to tag Henry with the food in her hand, but he ran wider than she'd originally anticipated and missed. She nearly tripped over her heels with her weight distributed unevenly in her bent position, but righted herself before she followed him into the dining room.

With his head start and her heels on the different levels of the first floor, she didn't reach him before Henry made a fast break toward the study. He closed the door with her only a couple feet away and locked the door. She tried the handle anyway, but after a few jiggles she gave up and looked over at Emma.

Emma laughed under her breath until Regina looked at her. She saw Regina's grin attempt to reach the brunette's ears and flew up the stairs two at a time.

Regina laughed and chased after her.

The door to the study opened after the click-clacking of heels left the hardwood floor and quietly thudded against carpeted stairs. Henry peeked his head out of the doorway with a smile and casually went up the stairs to see how the food fight would end.

Emma sought shelter in Regina's bedroom, but the brunette caught up to her and decided to play dirty before Emma could trap herself in the master bathroom.

“Miss Swan,” Regina drew out in a long, sultry purr as she slowly strode toward Emma.

Emma stopped and turned at the sound of Regina's voice.

“Won't you touch me?”

“Not with that food in your hand,” Emma replied with eyes as wide as a young child's when they realize they're in trouble.

“Not even if I told you I was ready for my surprise?”

“Never said it was for you.”

“I'm sure whatever it is, it will give me _immense_ pleasure,” Regina purred again.

There remained only a couple steps between them. Emma started to back up toward the bathroom, but Regina took a step forward for every step she took back.

“The kid's still awake,” Emma said as she backed into the door frame.

When she collided with the door frame, Regina pounced.

In a single breath, Regina closed the distance between them and pressed her body flush against Emma's.

Emma softly moaned as she felt Regina grind against her. She leaned her head back against the door frame as well and closed her eyes.

“Oh, I'm gonna love your part of the surprise tonight,” Emma half moaned, half panted.

Regina grinned and leaned in. She dipped her head and kissed Emma's neck. She snaked her tongue out and got to work on a hickey, but when Emma rested her hands on Regina's hips she pressed her food covered fingers to Emma's sternum. She pulled away from the kiss and watched Emma's reaction as she slid the food down her sternum and stopped grinding against the blonde.

“Damn,” Emma said as she looked down at the trail of food Regina had made.

“Looks like you're on clean up duty,” Regina smirked.

Emma smiled and used her hands on Regina’s hips to push the woman away.

Henry came to stand in the doorway when Emma wiped up some of the food on her chest and slapped it on Regina's neck. He smiled as Regina gasped then tried to rub more food on Emma.

Emma pulled Regina into an embrace, the brunette's side to Emma's front. She took two hits to her forehead when Regina swatted dirty hands at her.

When the two of them started to laugh together, Henry's smile slowly faded and he cocked his head to the side with an inquisitive look. He stared at them for a few more moments before the playfulness between them finally registered with him. He'd never seen Regina look so carefree and alive. It seemed like years had disappeared from her features in that moment, but she wasn't the only one that looked happy.

Emma's lips got way too close to Regina's neck for Henry's comfort and each time he thought she'd kiss his mother, he winced. But she always pulled away even though they hadn't seemed to notice him there yet. Emma smiled and squeezed Regina closer then stumbled around the room with her while they refused to give up the fight.

It wasn't until Emma spun them to face the doorway straight on and their laughter weakened their feisty attitudes that they saw him.

“Henry,” Regina said as she sobered up.

“Kid,” Emma mimicked Regina, her tone a little lower and less shocked.

Though they knew he stood before them, Emma still hadn't let go of Regina, but the brunette hadn't bothered to push out of her hold either.

“So, who won,” he asked with his cute half-smile.

Emma and Regina both breathed in relief and laughed.

Emma relaxed and let go of Regina while Regina smoothed out her outfit given her new found freedom.

“Your mom,” Emma hitched a thumb at Regina and walked toward him. “Should've known.”

Before Henry could question Emma's approach, she opened her arms and smothered him in a hug.

“Aw, eww,” Henry groaned and tried to worm his way out of the embrace.

Emma lifted him and when his feet no longer touched the ground, she held him close to herself so she could swing him and force him to lay on the ground.

“No! So...much... _food_ ,” Henry whined as Emma pinned him to the ground. “It's all squishy.”

Emma laughed and wiggled them around.

Henry whined without words that time then did something that no one expected.

“Mom, get her off me,” he called out to Regina.

Regina beamed.

Emma kept Henry trapped beneath her and turned to look at Regina with a smile.

“Mo-hom,” Henry laughed a little when he called for her that time.

Regina stepped forward and knelt down beside them. She looked them over again in a couple quick seconds then crashed into Emma. She rolled in the blonde's direction, half of her body on top of Emma's, and caused the three of them to roll the same way.

“No, you're supposed to be on _my_ side,” Henry kept whining. “Well, Emma's supposed to be on my side, but...she's the one that _attacked_ me.”

Regina and Emma laughed at his statement.

“I'll show you an attack,” Emma said then nuzzled her her nose into the crook of his neck.

Henry laughed.

“No, no, no,” Regina corrected. “ _This_ is an attack.”

Regina leaned in and peppered Henry's cheeks with kisses.

He squirmed under them and tried to push them away at the shoulders.

His failed attempts only made Emma and Regina laugh more. Emma only buried herself further in his neck and smiled against it while Regina continued with her kisses.

Regina kissed her way toward his chin and Emma moved up toward his other cheek. The two of them met in the middle and Regina accidentally pecked Emma on the cheek.

Henry stopped wiggling his head from side to side and looked up at his mothers. His eyes opened to see Emma move at lightning fast sped to peck Regina on the cheek in retaliation. He hadn't known Regina had kissed her first though.

Regina's eyes were downcast, almost closed, so she didn't see Henry's eyes on them. When Emma's lips pressed against her cheek, she smiled and leaned her head closer to Emma's.

Emma kept smiling, her eyes as closed as Regina's, as she lightly bumped her temple against Regina's forehead.

Henry kicked around beneath them and finally, they let him breathe.

Emma and Regina pushed off the floor into kneeling positions then reached out and helped Henry sit up.

Henry tried to catch his breath then scrunched up his face in disgust as he looked down at his food covered clothes and skin.

“You need a shower, kid,” Emma chuckled when she looked at him then picked away a bit of meat from his shoulder.

“Like you look any better,” he replied.

His tone seemed too harsh for him to be joking, but his lips were curled the slightest bit upward.

Emma turned to Regina with a frown that the brunette returned.

“We _all_ need a shower,” Regina stepped in much like Emma had to act as a buffer between her and Henry. “But _you_ need to clean up the dining room first.”

Emma rolled her eyes at the command, but got up anyway then held out a hand.

Regina took Emma's hand without thinking and Emma helped her stand.

Again, Henry noticed the gesture. He didn't smile or laugh, but he didn't scoff or yell either. He just observed before the three of them went their separate ways in the house.

* * *

Regina came down the stairs to check on Emma and saw the blonde on all fours in the dining room, her ass on display in a skirt. She grinned and walked into the room without a sound. She stepped behind the younger woman and lifted her foot between parted legs. She ran the top of her bare foot over Emma's panties and felt the woman shudder.

Regina's grin spread and when her toes teased Emma's opening, she pulled her foot away only to kick Emma forward with her foot against the younger woman's ass.

Emma lurched forward, but kept herself up on all fours.

“Couldn't wait until _after_ my shower,” Emma asked then turned over and sat on the floor.

Emma stared up at Regina in awe, her mouth agape.

Regina shook her head and water droplets rolled down her chest from her wet hair that curled in various places. She wore a red, silk neglige that stopped mid-thigh, but it didn't reveal much more than that.

Until Regina slowly stepped closer.

She kept one foot on either side of Emma as she made the space between them disappear. Regina only stopped when Emma had no choice but to look up her nightwear. She gripped the hem of her neglige and pulled it toward her hip to give Emma a good peek.

Emma licked lips before she bit her bottom lip.

“You...are not wearing any underwear right now,” Emma slowly said like saying the words helped her process what she'd seen.

“Don't keep me waiting too long,” Regina purred then tangled a hand in Emma's hair.

Regina pulled Emma's head between her legs.

Emma ran a hand up one of Regina's legs from her calve to her inner thigh. She brushed against the tickle spot before she pressed her lips to soft skin at her inner thigh.

Regina shivered and tightened her grip on Emma's hair as well as the hem of her neglige.

Emma pulled away and Regina let her go. She stepped back from the blonde and smirked at the dumb smile plastered on the younger woman's face.

“I'll be in the bedroom,” Regina said as she turned to face the stairs and walked into the foyer.

Emma watched Regina walk up the stairs until the dining room walls prevented her from seeing the brunette anymore then took a minute to collect herself. After she calmed down, she turned back onto all fours and went into hyper-speed to clean up.

When she finished the floors, she took a wet paper towel to her face and cleaned off what she could before she tossed the paper towel in the trash and headed upstairs. She saw two bedroom lights on from the space between the bottom of the doors and the floor. She walked past Regina's room and softly knocked on Henry's door.

“Kid?”

Emma slowly pushed open the door and cautiously peered inside.

Henry laid under the covers in his usual loose T-shirt and pajama bottoms wide awake, his eyes focused on his comforter as he picked at the material.

“Hey, it's a school night,” she said as came into the room, but left the door partially open. “Go to sleep.”

“It's only eight o'clock,” Henry said with a frown, his eyes still trained on the comforter.

“You sound upset. What's wrong?”

Emma took the final steps between her and his bed then sat down on the edge.

“I forgot.”

“Oh, come on. I know you know why you're upset.”

“I forgot that she's the Evil Queen,” he elaborated.

“Henry,” Emma warned. “We've been over this.”

“I forgot she's the Evil Queen and you _kissed_ her,” he said and finally looked at her.

Emma's mouth open and closed, completely thrown by his words.

“I- You saw that?”

“Part of me knows that she looked really happy, but part of me knows she's only going to hurt you.”

Emma shook her head.

“Whoa. Henry. No. That's not- It was just a little kiss.”

“But that wasn't the only time you kissed her, was it.”

Emma blinked a few times, shocked into silence.

“No,” Henry groaned in disappointment. “You're not supposed to kiss her. You're supposed to break her curse!”

“She is _not_ the Evil Queen. The curse _isn't_ real. Henry, she's your mom. She's _Regina_.”

“How long?”

“How long,” Emma repeated his question, confused. “She's been your mom since you were three weeks old.”

“No, how long have you been kissing her.”

“Go to bed,” Emma said, having no other way to respond to his question, then stood up and turned to leave.

“The whole time you were looking for Evil Queen behavior, you were getting closer to her, weren't you. You lied to me.”

“It's not like that, Henry,” she tiredly tried to explain.

“Then what's it like? You lied to me, Emma. You don't believe me and you lied to me.”

“Henry-”

“Leave me alone,” he grumbled and turned onto his side to put his back to her.

Emma sighed through her nose and flipped off the light switch before she closed the door behind her on the way out. She sulked back to Regina's room and didn't feel any better when she opened the door to see Regina. Even though Regina laid on top of the sheets in her revealing neglige wearing reading glasses with a book in her lap, it still didn't get Emma to smile.

Regina frowned when she saw Emma's deflated look and watched the blonde flop beside her on the bed. She set her book on the nightstand and removed her glasses.

“What happened,” she asked.

“Henry's mad at me.”

Regina reached out and ran her hand through Emma's hair. She repeated the action slowly, over and over, to comfort Emma and slid down the bed to be eye level with her.

“He saw me kiss you when we were wrestling him,” Emma added.

“How did he respond,” Regina asked as she swung a leg over one of Emma's and snuggled a little into her side.

“He's upset because I told him I'd keep an eye out for any Evil Queen behavior from you, but he knows that I was just using that time to be with you. He's a really perceptive ten year old, you know that?”

Regina leaned in and kissed Emma's temple.

“I think I made him blame himself for this.”

Regina furrowed her brow.

“Why? How could he ever be responsible for us being together?”

“Because he forgot you were the Evil Queen.”

Regina stayed silent.

Emma turned her head and saw the sad look on the brunette's face.

“Those were his words. He's tried to spend almost every hour of every day we spend together trying to convince me that's who you are. I finally got him to shut up about it after I told him to drop it when we went bowling the other day. I guess he figures because he let you be his mom again and didn't see you as the Evil Queen that it made it okay for me think that way too. And now he's convinced that you're going to hurt me and he hates that I lied to him about what I was _really_ doing with you.”

Regina hummed then leaned in again and kissed Emma a few times on her temple.

“You need a shower,” Regina changed the subject.

Emma pulled her head up to look down at herself and noticed the apparent sight of meat that still covered her in places. She groaned and thumped her head back down on the bed.

“Do I have to,” she whined. “I'm so comfortable here. And Henry's never been so disappointed in me before.”

Emma turned her head to look at Regina and pouted with puppy dog eyes.

“Oh, no,” Regina admonished. “Don't look at me like that. It stopped working for Henry a couple years ago.”

Emma pouted even more and batted her eyelashes several times in rapid succession.

“I really want to get clean, but I'm tired,” Emma started. “Help me?”

Regina sighed and pushed herself onto her knees. She placed a knee on either side of Emma's waist and watched the younger woman lick her lips at the sight of Regina's neglige ride up to her hips. She grinned and lifted herself off the bed.

“If you want me,” Regina said as she started to backed up toward the master bathroom. “Come get me.”

Emma quickly pulled herself into a sitting position and followed after Regina as though she worked on autopilot or was in a trance.

Regina's eyes glittered with lust and pride with a smirk.

Emma snapped out of her trance and matched Regina's smirk with a devious grin. She looked predatory just seconds before she attacked and pinned the brunette hard against the closed bathroom door.

Regina slammed into the door and throatily chuckled and placed her hands on Emma's shoulders.

“What about my surprise,” Regina asked, her smirk still present.

“We'll save that for tonight's round two.”

Regina laughed and Emma lifted her into her arms. Regina easily took the hint and wrapped her legs around Emma's waist before Emma opened the bathroom door.

The two of them went into the bathroom and Regina kicked the door closed behind them as they laughed all the way to the shower.

 


	25. Chapter 25

Unforgiving limbs reminded Emma of her frequent and most recent sexual activity as she winced with every step she took from her car to the school. With each shot of pain she felt, a flash of memory visually reiterated why she'd felt it at all.

She remembered sliding around on Regina's shower floor and tapping the wall and tiles in surrender. She hadn't wanted Regina to stop and her tapping out only served to announce her orgasm, as well as her discomfort caused by a few strained muscles.

She remembered the way Regina moved, her rhythm, the beauty of her muscles as they contracted during specific moments. Emma's toy had worked marvelously between the two of them, though Regina rode her with much more grace than she rode Regina. The brunette had surprised her yet again with her more than adequate skills while also mesmerizing her with the fluid dance she performed throughout every round of sex. The dance was never the same. It had changed with every pace set during their various escapades, but it maintained the same power and passion and intimacy.

“ _I've never felt so close to anyone like I do when I'm with you,” Emma panted as she laid on her back beside Regina on the bed. “We never talk about our pasts or our ambitions, but...I can feel you. Like, really feel you when we're together.”_

“ _I never expected it to go this far... For me to...” Regina said, as breathless and tired as Emma. “You really are my undoing, aren't you?”_

_Regina had asked quietly and seemed absent-minded, which gave Emma the impression she'd only been thinking out loud. With that in mind, Emma ignored the question and pushed forward in their sleepy, post-coital conversation._

“ _I'll tell you what I want for my future: to always feel close,” Emma stated then turned her head to the side to look at Regina._

_Regina returned her gaze._

“ _Be careful what you wish for, dear.”_

“ _I_ was _being careful,” Emma started. “Always feeling like this...it's the one thing I've never wanted impulsively. It's the one thing I've wanted since I was little. I was always being abandoned and this feeling is the only thing that could make it all worth it.”_

_Regina thickly swallowed as she stared at Emma during the blonde's confession._

“ _I'm not gonna go as far as to say you touch me like you love me, but....there's more to it than when we started this. It seems less messy, less_ complicated _.”_

_Regina smiled, half-forced and half-pleased to hear Emma say such a thing. The smile didn't last long, but neither did the silence between them before Emma continued._

“ _You know, the day Henry brought me here...it was my birthday. After I'd made a wish on the candle I put on this cupcake I bought myself, he showed up at my door. He brought me to you and I finally got the chance to see him for more than two seconds before I told the doctors to take him away._

“ _Every day since then, between you and him, I can safely say I got my wish...tenfold.”_

“ _And...what was your wish?”_

_Emma warmly smiled at Regina in a way that reminded the brunette of Henry._

“ _I wished I didn't have to be alone on my birthday. For the past couple of months, I haven't once felt alone like I have for my entire life. Granted, when you stopped kissing me I felt pretty shitty and unwanted, but-”_

“ _It's not because I don't want you,” Regina quickly cut her off. “I...I'd tell you that I'll explain it to you some day, but I won't lie to you because I don't know if I ever will. The real reason I won't kiss you is..it's something I'm struggling with and probably always will, but I promise you that I want to try to make you feel wanted every day. I will do whatever it takes and while I'm still being honest, I already set some things in motion that will guarantee I can't hurt you like you seem to have been in the past.”_

Emma hadn't thought too hard about what exactly Regina meant by that the previous night and she didn't get the chance to think about it when she remembered it just then either. Her attention had shifted form her memories to her roommate in the school's faculty room with a sacked lunch in front of her on the round table she sat at by herself.

Mary Margaret's eyes flicked up from her tuna salad sandwich and landed on the tall blonde with a Sheriff's badge hooked onto waistband of yet another skirt of Emma's.

“Emma!”

She smiled at the schoolteacher.

“What are you doing here? And _how_ are you here,” Mary Margaret asked as she set down her sandwich. “This is the _faculty_ room. For faculty _only_. Last time I checked, you don't work here.”

Emma winced as she slowly sat down in the seat across from Mary Margaret. She hissed when her ass hit the chair. All reactions caused by the things she and Regina did the previous night.

“I got a visitor's pass and people seem to like me, especially since I apparently know how to keep the Mayor from snapping at everyone in town. That's according to the receptionist, by the way.”

Mary Margaret halfheartedly smiled and bobbed her head in a single nod.

“They have no idea,” Mary Margaret hinted with a raised eyebrow. “Speaking of Regina, did you have another rough night with her? You keep making faces every time you move.”

“Not rough so much as vigorous and long lasting, but I didn't come here to discuss what _I_ did last night. I saw the flowers on the dining room table. 'Mary Margaret, It really was a good time last night. No shame, right?'”

Mary Margaret's cheeks burst with a rosy pink tint.

“What happened at The Rabbit Hole?”

“Nothing. I had a few drinks and went to bed.”

“Yeah, you went to bed, alright. With Dr. Whale,” Emma exclaimed in a hushed tone.

“You shouldn't have read the note. It was for me,” Mary Margaret said, embarrassed not angry.

“Hey, I thought the flowers were for me. I didn't know until I saw your name at the top of the card. Then I was curious. I mean, the only reason I went to the apartment this morning was to see you. I brought an extra pair of clothes to Regina's so I wouldn't have to go back there before work, but I owed you an apology. I _still_ do, which is actually _more so_ the reason why I'm here.”

“I get it. You were busy with Regina. I was just being whiny and needy and-”

“No, you sounded like you were sad and in pain. I told you I'd come to the bar after dinner and I didn't. I'm really sorry.”

Mary Margaret warmly smiled.

“Thank you.”

“What happened with David? I thought he was staying over.”

Mary Margaret frowned and looked down at the table. She folded her arms over her chest and shifted in her seat.

Emma's face fell and she leaned forward.

“Oh, no. What happened?”

Mary Margaret cleared her throat and looked up at Emma.

“He, uh, met Kathryn and I guess the two of them hit it off because she helped him get a job at the Animal Shelter and she took him out to dinner and she offered up her spare bedroom, which is better than a couch-”

“What? He just met this woman and he thought, 'Sure. It'll be much better than staying with Mary Margaret even though she stayed with me through my recovery after waking up from a coma'?!”

“Emma,” Mary Margaret warned as she looked around at the other teachers that started to stare at them. “Keep your voice down. And...it's fine.”

“No, it's not. God, now I really wish I hadn't been such a jerk last night.”

“Well, I had company either way,” Mary Margaret shrugged.

Emma frowned.

“Are you gonna see him again?”

“Whale? No. No, it was just a...a one night stand.”

“Then...what's with the flowers?”

“We left things kind of awkward this morning.”

“Wait, you stayed at _his_ place? All night?”

Mary Margaret shyly nodded.

“Wow. I never stay that long for one nighters.”

“Well, I'm not as resilient or have as much stamina as you seem to have. We both kind of just fell asleep afterward.”

“You know what? Girls night. Tonight. You and me. I'll drink with you or dance with you or eat a bunch of junk food and watch a chick flick with you if it's what you need. We can invite Ruby too, if you want.”

The schoolteacher smiled.

“Are you sure Regina wouldn't mind if I borrowed you?”

“After last night, I think she and I could use a break from bedroom activities.”

“Okay. As long as you and her agree. I'd hate to make her angry. She doesn't like me much as it is.”

“I'm sure she'll say yes,” Emma smiled.

* * *

“Absolutely not,” Regina exclaimed.

“Seriously?”

“I will _not_ allow you to spend a night with Ruby! You _know_ how I feel about her,” Regina practically snarled.

Emma rolled her eyes.

“I'm not spending the night with Ruby. I'm staying at the apartment with Mary Margaret and Ruby _might_ come over.”

“The last time you were with her, you ended up on the front page _kissing her_!”

Emma chucked a french fry back in the to-go box from Granny's and gave up on eating.

“I straightened all of that out with her when I got us lunch. She and I know not to try that again.”

“Did you tell her about us?”

“No. I just told her she's one of the first friends I've had in a while and that kissing would only complicate things. Then I explained that one or both of us would get hurt or upset and then I'd lose a friend and I don't want that. She doesn't want that either.”

“I bet she doesn't,” Regina growled in a disapproving tone filled with jealousy.

Emma stood from the visitor's chair she'd situated herself in when she'd entered the office and walked around Regina's desk. She swiveled Regina's chair to the side so she had room and lowered herself sideways across Regina's lap. She spun the chair back to face the desk then reached over and grabbed the fork from Regina's hardly eaten salad.

She stabbed at several bits of salad and stuck a good sized bite of everything to the fork. She brought the plastic utensil to Regina's mouth and waited for the other woman to part her lips in acceptance.

“Just because we're dating now doesn't mean you get to control everything I do and manage the people I hang out with,” Emma explained.

“The only dates we have are family dinners. We're in a relationship, but we are not 'dating'.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. Open up.”

Emma tapped the food filled end of the fork against Regina's bottom lip twice.

Regina's eyes flicked up to bore deep into Emma's eyes.

Emma was prepared to bait Regina with teasing nicknames, but after a good moment of silent staring Regina opened her mouth.

Emma smiled and slid the fork past Regina's parted lips.

Regina clamped her mouth shut around the fork and never took her eyes off Emma's as she slowly pulled her head back to remove the fork, void of food, from her mouth.

“You can trust me,” Emma barely said above a whisper as she leaned in and kissed Regina on the cheek. “I meant what I said last night. You're the only one who can make me feel like you do.”

Emma dropped the fork back into Regina's salad and turned against to the brunette before she leaned in a second time. She brushed her thumb across one of Regina's cheeks while she kissed the other.

Regina's eyes relaxed closed.

“I'm not going to cheat on you or leave you for someone else, okay?”

Regina leaned back and rested her head against the back of her chair.

Emma moved back with her, stood for a split second, and fluidly turned to straddle Regina's lap. She sank down on top of Regina and leaned in. She stopped her lips right at Regina's lips and just hovered. Like magnets trying to connect, she started to brush her lips against Regina's after a moment and easily felt the electricity that sparked between them.

“We're in this together,” Emma hummed and their lips brushed every other word. “You already let your walls down and in case you didn't notice, so did I.”

Their breathing became shallow as they breathed on each other in their close proximity.

Regina slid her arms around Emma's back and held tightly to the younger woman's hips. She listened intently as everything Emma said sunk in so profoundly that she felt the truth and sincerity of Emma's words in her heart.

“For once in my life, Regina, I'm not running. And I could give Henry plenty of credit for that, but he doesn't give me strength like you do. The way you challenged me kept me here and I'm not leaving.”

Regina would have smiled, but a rotten feeling in the pit of her stomach at the reality of her situation with Emma kept her from a warm display. She only held on tighter to the blonde and buried her face in the crook of Emma's neck. She hugged Emma like it would be the last time and tried not to cry.

Emma smiled into Regina's hair, her lips pursed dangerously close to pressing a kiss on Regina's head, and rubbed a hand over the back of Regina's neck. Her other hand rested on the other woman's shoulder and as she pulled away from the embrace, she squeezed the brunette's shoulder.

“I should let you get back to work,” Emma said with a light, carefree tone and continued to smile.

“Yes, I suppose you _should_ , though I really wish you could stay,” Regina forced a smile.

“You'll see me again when I drop Henry off after school.”

“Will you stay for dinner?”

“You know I only ever eat when it's you who's feeding me,” Emma grinned.

“How strange that you've managed to make me your house wife.”

“Mm. All I need to do now is put a ring on your finger and get you pregnant,” Emma joked. “Then you'd just be my wife and all the domestic jobs would fall on you.”

For a moment, Regina tensed at the idea of being married. Married to Emma. It terrified her to think of the possibility, but it also gave her a sense of comfort and happiness. Those feelings helped Regina quickly mask her worry and allowed her tease and joke with Emma in that moment.

“What makes you think I can't get you to do things around the house? Who says _you_ wouldn't be _my_ wife?”

“The fact that you wouldn't let me near your kitchen because you're afraid I might burn something down.”

“I've never expressed that fear. In fact, didn't I once tell you to make dinner because I was going to be late?”

Emma thought back on it and when the memory hit her, she slumped in her defeat.

Regina smirked.

“My dear, I believe it's you who's whipped.”

“I am not whi-”

Regina ran her hands over Emma's ass and squeezed before the blonde ever had the chance to finish her sentence.

Emma immediately shut her mouth and pushed her backside into Regina's hands.

“What were you saying, dear?”

Emma rested her forehead against Regina's and breathed out before she answered.

“Okay, I'm a little whipped.”

“A little?”

Regina purred, her voice low and thick with lust. She kept one hand firmly on Emma's ass and slid the other one up Emma's shirt. She snaked her hand around to the front of the younger woman's body and pushed her fingertips underneath the band of Emma's bra.

“A lot,” Emma groaned and pressed her sex against Regina's lower abdomen.

Regina stared up at Emma, the blonde's eyes closed and her expression showed she was unmistakably aroused. She blinked away tears that started to well up in her eyes, tears she wanted to cry because she knew there was no other way. She wanted to keep Emma happy and the only way to do that would give her the gift of ignorance. Gold wouldn't allow it since he was set on her breaking the curse, but Regina had another option in order to grant it. That option meant Regina had every right to stare at Emma and try to memorize the woman's face. It meant she had every right to want to cry because she would never again be the cause of that look.

She would never again see Emma light up and tease her. She would never again see Emma moments before release or see her tiredly smile at her after sex. It meant she would never again see a lot of things that often put a smile on her own face.

So Regina stared at her, memorized her, and almost cried because she did have every right to do just that. If there was one thing on her mind that she knew she couldn't confess, it was the real reason behind what she had planned.

Because it would be the last time, Regina abandoned Emma's breasts and slid her hand into the waistband of the woman's skirt. She wrapped her other hand, previously on Emma's ass, around the blonde's waist. When she teased Emma's clit, she held Emma steady as the blonde bucked her hips.

“Regina,” Emma warned, though she hadn't said it with much authority.

“Encourage me to get through the day,” Regina breathed out as she brushed her lips over Emma's neck, but refused to plant any kisses. “There are things I have to do and I don't want to do them. But...they have to get done. Help me?”

Regina moved her hand toward Emma's opening and slipped a single finger a short distance inside the other woman.

Emma's breathing became shallow, slightly erratic. She rolled her hips and tried to feel more of Regina, but the other woman removed her finger before she had the chance.

“Yeah,” Emma breathlessly replied.

When Regina looked back on that moment, she would see it only made things harder, but _in_ that moment, she wanted to feel everything she could never have. She wanted to remember what she had even though it was never meant to be.

Regina slid two fingers inside Emma that time and didn't dare pull away from the heat and the wetness she felt. She contentedly sighed and started a tender, sensual pace.

“I wish I could see you,” Regina quietly admitted.

Emma rolled her hips to meet each thrust as she pulled her face back enough to make eye contact.

“You sound sad,” Emma noted with her own somber tone.

“It's going to be a long day,” Regina half-truthfully admitted.

“Can I make it better?”

Regina smiled, though her expression showed that the bittersweet answer that was on her own lips to Emma's question was not lost on her.

“You always do.”

Emma beamed, almost with a childish innocence. She pushed off Regina's shoulders and stood.

Immediately, Regina frowned at the loss of contact.

Emma crossed the room and locked the office door. When she turned around to face Regina, she pulled down her skirt, black tights, and panties at the same time. She stepped out of them and kicked them off to the side somewhere. She headed back toward Regina and peeled off her shirt.

Regina raked her eyes over the exposed parts of Emma.

“You...you're just so...” Regina trailed off. She lacked the ability to find the right words.

“Accommodating,” Emma asked with a smirk as she used one of Regina's previously used words against her.

Regina didn't miss the joke. She flashed a grin as Emma reached behind herself and unhooked her bra, but her expression turned more awestruck before she found the words she wanted to say.

“So kind and so beautiful. When you came into my town, I saw a challenge. Now? Well, I still see you as a challenge, but...you are so much more than I could have ever imagined.”

Emma stripped herself of her bra and closed the distance between them. Completely bare, Emma straddled the fully clothed Mayor.

“For someone who's already got me, you sure do go the extra mile of trying to sweet talk your way into my pants,” Emma teased.

“I'm not sweet talking you. I'm trying to tell you-”

“Regina, there are a lot of things you could say to me, but it's gonna take longer than the ten minutes you have left for lunch to fix the damage done by me being an orphan. So...why don't I give you what you want? I'm already naked. I'd hate for my nudity to go to waste.”

“Believe me, even if we didn't proceed, your nudity would never go to waste. Not with me.”

“Right, well, I'm still sore from last night and I also have some fading bite marks on my ass so I suggest we do this before I collapse,” Emma lightly laughed.

“No need to rush,” Regina said as she ran her hand over Emma's left thigh. “I'll catch you if you do.”

Regina's fingers grazed the gauze wrapped around Emma's leg and it caught the attention of both women.

“I'm sorry,” Regina said.

Emma licked her lips, not out of lust, but more out of nervousness.

“I forgive you.”

“You wouldn't if you knew the truth,” Regina looked down.

“Hey,” Emma started as she tucked a finger under Regina's chin and gently forced her to look her in the eyes. “Let me tell you something about me. When I say I forgive you, it's a rare thing that should be highly appreciated. I think you're the first person I've ever forgiven in my life. That means something to me. I hope it means something to you.”

“It does,” Regina quickly replied. “Believe me, it does.”

“Okay. So...sex or no sex,” Emma asked with a small smile and raised her knee as far as she could toward Regina's chest. “'Cause I'm kind of starting to need another warm up.”

Regina smiled and ran her hand up and down Emma's thigh with a feather-light touch. The closer she got to Emma's sex, she rubbed her hand over Emma's inner thigh. After the third time she ran her hand up the younger woman's thigh, she slowly swiped her thumb over Emma's clit.

Emma puffed out a sigh that was more like a muffled whimper that came from the back of her throat.

“Is that enough of a warm up for you?”

“Mhmm,” Emma nodded and blinked a few times as she did.

Regina grinned and moved her hand off Emma's thigh. She slid two fingers into Emma and watched Emma roll her hips to meet her fingers.

Regina started the same sensual pace she had before Emma got up and locked the door. Slow, caring, deliberately paced to show Emma everything she felt but couldn't say. She hoped she got her point across because it was her only chance.

Emma breathed harder when she felt Regina's lips cover one of her nipples. Regina's tongue flicked over it while her mouth sucked. She clenched a fist in short, brunette hair. She bobbed up and down and rolled back and forth as she rode Regina's fingers.

With both women sitting up, Regina touching Emma the way she was, they were equal. No one was on top or on the bottom. They just...were. They were human, they were together, they were connected.

Regina kept an arm wrapped around Emma's back and held her as close as possible. She felt Emma tense her back as the woman moved with her, onto her fingers, toward her own body. She felt Emma's arousal coat her fingers as she continued to move in and out. She clamped her lips around the neglected nipple and started to lick and suck and after a moment, she pushed her hand up Emma's spine. Her fingers splayed on fair skin as she slid her hand toward the base of Emma's neck. Her hand slid aside, toward Emma's shoulder, and she passionately dug her nails into smooth skin.

Emma's breath hitched in Regina's ear as her walls tightened around the other woman's fingers. As Regina's nails scraped down her back, over her right shoulder blade, and down to her waist, Emma's walls tightened again. And again her breath hitched. She clung to Regina's shoulders to keep herself balanced and then let go while she clawed at Regina's clothes.

The sound of Emma's breath each time it hitched, the sound of her half-moan, haf-scream when she tumbled over the edge, the feel of Emma when her legs tensed before she limply fell on top of her, Regina committed to memory. She wrapped her arm around Emma once again when Emma collapsed and caught the blonde like she said she would.

Regina's fingers remained inside of Emma as the younger woman continued to sit on her lap and gave no room for either one to remove them. She didn't mind.

“Ummm,” Emma panted but sounded worried as she stared down at Regina's lap between their bodies. “I'm pretty sure I ruined your outfit.”

Regina looked down and saw the evidence of Emma's orgasm on her black dress slacks and on her white blouse where it tucked into the shirt.

“It's okay. It was worth it.”

“Was it? I mean, I didn't even touch you.”

“Trust me, dear. With you...it's always worth it.”

Emma warmly smiled, but turned it into a teasing smirk.

“Work. You need to govern the people and instead you've got your hands in the Sheriff's department.”

Regina salaciously grinned.

“The department is made up of only you, dear, and the sheriff is the only thing I want to have my hands in anyway.”

“Well, like the Rolling Stones say, 'you can't always get what you want',” Emma shrugged, though she hadn't moved in the last few minutes and instead remained in Regina's lap.

“I certainly can't,” Regina said with a frown. “You're right. You should go. Stop distracting me and let me get back to work.”

“Mm, one more,” Emma said after she pretended to mull over her options and started to rock her hips.

“Anything for you,” Regina said as she smiled up at Emma and obliged the other woman's wish.

The term of endearment “my love” went unsaid there, but Regina felt it in her heart and suddenly it didn't feel so cold and black and empty anymore.

* * *

Regina stared out of her office window an hour after Emma left her to her work. She looked down at her apple tree and watched the red of the apples dim. She hadn't remembered them being so faded and discolored the last week or so. In fact, the apples had been ripe and lively ever since Emma showed her how it felt to be respected and well-treated when they were underneath the tree. Ever since the night she'd asked Emma to kiss her until the sun came up. And when she looked at it then, the apples mirrored the defeat she felt. They represented the hollowness in her chest and the sadness in her soul, the weakness in her power as she struggled to do what she thought she had to.

After Emma left her office, she'd felt a darkness that suffocated the warmth Regina wanted to feel and show. That darkness stayed with her all day in a way she hadn't felt since before she enacted the curse. It clouded and surrounded her like loneliness had after she grew tired of the same boring Storybrooke routine only a week after casting the curse.

With the knowledge of what she was about to do, Regina became overwrought with a premature sense of loss.

Her office door opened and she turned away from the window. She flashed a quick and small grin at the man with dark brown hair mostly, but not entirely, tamed like he had been running his hands through it over and over again throughout the loss of his sanity. His blue eyes were narrowed and his jaw clenched. He flipped a playing card between two of his fingers as he seethed and let his anger show.

“Jefferson,” Regina greeted with a grin and started to cross the room, her eyes trailing down to the playing card in his hand. “ So you got my message?”

She walked to the mirror with her hands clasped behind her back and stared as intensely at Jefferson as the man stared at her, though her gaze held confidence where his held malice.

“How could I miss it? You know I watch her,” Jefferson bitterly responded in a raspy tone as he kept his eyes on Regina wherever she walked.

“Must be so painful to have your daughter Paige so near?”

Regina sauntered toward her mirror and readied two tumblers.

“Grace,” Jefferson quickly corrected. “Her name is Grace. You should know that. You changed it.”

Jefferson turned to Regina as she stood in front of the mirror and poured him and herself a drink.

“What do you want,” he growled.

“Your help.”

“And what makes you think,” he paused as he tried to stay composed. “That I won't kill you after everything you've done.”

Regina slightly turned her body to look over her shoulder at him. Her grin faded a little, but her expression still showed her power.

“Because you _don't_ have it in you,” she spoke with all seriousness then grabbed his drink and walked toward him. “If you did, you would've have done it twenty-eight years ago when I brought you here. Because you know if I'm dead you will _never_ get back to your daughter.”

She held up a drink to his chest and continued.

“And I have a way for us to both get what we want.”

Instead of accepting the drink, he lifted the playing card Regina had left on the back of his daughter's bicycle at the elementary school and set it in the glass regardless of the amber liquid in it.

Regina only smirked as she looked down at the glass then set it aside on the corner of her desk before she grabbed an oddly shaped and worn leather-bound case off the floor beside the couch. She held it up high enough for him to see it as she walked across the office once again and not-too-gently placed it on the table to the left of her desk.

“My hat,” Jefferson said in recognition as he walked over to the table.

He unbuckled the front strap and threw open the lid. He looked inside, but a second later he saw Regina step too far into his personal space. He immediately took a step back and stared at her with widened eyes.

“I want you to use it again,” Regina said.

“I can't make it work. No one can. Not here. Not without magic.”

“Well then you're in luck because I happen to have some.”

She slowly turned toward the table.

“Not a lot,” she started as she set her own drink down. “But hopefully enough...”

Regina paused as she wickedly grinned and carefully pulled the hat out of the case.

“For one. Last. Journey.”

She held the hat between them, the rim of it almost pressed to his chest as Jefferson stared down at it.

“Where?”

“Back to our land. Where there is a solution to a _very_ delicate problem I have. How to get rid of the one person who can break my curse.”

Surprisingly, Regina hadn't used a bitter tone when she spoke of the sensitive subject. It showed on Jefferson's face that he expected more sparks of anger from the woman he knew only as the Evil Queen.

“Emma,” he said with a straight face that, after a moment, broke out with a huge grin as wide as the Cheshire cat's. “And why shouldn't I let her do just that? End the madness and go home.”

Regina haughtily laughed right in his face with an expression to match the taunting her laughter conveyed. Her laughter and her expression said, “What a fool you are to think that way.”

“To your hovel,” she rhetorically asked. “Selling fungus at the fare? Why?”

She dropped the hat back in its case then turned back to Jefferson.

“When you could just stay here in the mansion I gave you,” Regina continued and made herself sound every bit like the Evil Queen Jefferson was so used to dealing with.

Jefferson sighed as though he was bored and slipped his hands into his coat pockets.

Regina patted a hand against the front of his shoulder and walked around him.

“My problem, Jefferson, is the same as yours,” she told him as she circled the man and stopped on his right side. “It's family.”

She wanted to leave it at that because telling the truth about wanting Emma's happiness meant losing her target audience, but telling a lie meant denying the only thing that felt real since the curse, aside from Henry. She quickly weighed her options before she decided one more lie wouldn't matter; especially because if she did persuade Jefferson, the one thing that felt real would no longer exist anyway.

“We both want our children back and we both can get them.”

Technically, it wasn't really a lie. Compared to every other lie she'd told since Henry came into her life, that one was actually a truth. Emma had definitely monopolized a lot of Henry's love and time even though she'd just shown up in his life a short couple of months ago.

“If we work _together_ ,” she added.

“Why should I trust you now?”

“You shouldn't. ...But it's the only offer you've got. After we're through, I'll wake up your dear Grace so she remembers who you are.”

“No,” he boldly demanded then breathed out a scoff. “Remembering is the worst curse. Two lives in her head like me. I want to forget. I want you to write us a _new_ story. A _fresh_ start. Here.”

“Well then, my dear Jefferson, then that's exactly what you'll have,” she proudly, somewhat victoriously, grinned.

She walked around him and started to strut toward her desk, but she stopped herself halfway and turned back to him.

“Oh... _after_ we take care of Miss Swan.”

She had called Emma by her first name to everyone except the blonde since the woman's arrival in Storybrooke, but in that moment, she had to distance herself from the act she was about to perform. She had a relationship far beyond the anger and worry that shaped them into enemies the day they met. In fact, they barely had time to be enemies before they started to feel something more. Or at least until Regina started to feel something more. She still wasn't sure what Emma felt, though the younger woman had been plenty vocal about her appreciation for everything Regina did for her. And not just when it came to sex.

That distance she tried to create led her to her family mausoleum with Jefferson in tow. She descended the narrow, cement stairs to her underground vault and placed her hand on the archway above her head to ensure she didn't hit it.

“Watch your step,” she warned with consideration, as if she actually cared for the man's well-being.

“What is this place,” Jefferson asked as Regina swatted away nonexistent spider- and cobwebs.

It had been a while since her last visit to the vault. The last time being when she crushed Graham's heart, but thinking about that reminded her of why she killed him. Emma. She didn't want to think about that, not when it killed her a little more inside with every step she took toward protecting Emma from the truth.

“Where I've kept the last bit of my magic,” she said as she entered the grand room that housed all her hearts and trinkets against the webbed walls.

“The only magic in _this_ world is in the things I brought with me.”

Jefferson looked around at the plain, gray-beige cement that surrounded them, his hat in his hand and the case left behind.

He placed it on the old design that stood out in Storybrooke but was normal in the Enchanted Forest. He stepped back with Regina already a safe distance away as she nervously twirled the ring on her finger.

They waited a moment, but nothing happened.

“It's not spinning. It's not working,” Jefferson said as he motioned toward the dormant hat.

Regina thought about it for a few seconds and started to look around when it came to her.

“It needs to absorb the magic that's here.”

She focused on a corner of the shelves behind Jefferson.

“I have a few things left,” she said as she went to one of the shelving units. “A few trinkets.”

She brought over a small box about the size of a jewelry box and dumped the jingling contents into the hat. It still wasn't enough.

Regina sighed and Jefferson reclaimed his hat. He turned it over and when nothing fell out, he too sighed.

“It's not enough. It needs something that still works.”

She frowned and reached into her blazer pocket. She held Daniel's ring in her right hand between her index finger and thumb. She sadly stared at the golden circle pulled off a horse's saddle the night they'd mutually proposed to each other and agreed to run away together. The inner circle lit up with the image of Daniel and her shoulders heavily fell in deflation.

“Who is that,” Jefferson asked, curious but still a little anxious about the hat.

“Someone long gone,” Regina said as she continued to stare at her beloved.

“Well, whatever or _who_ ever it is...it still has magical properties.”

Regina looked up at Jefferson with a frown, her eyes wide and sad like she'd lost Daniel all over again.

“Give me that. Let me see what I can do with it,” Jefferson said as he extended the hat to Regina for her to feed the ring to it.

Regina parted her lips and looked like a kicked puppy at the thought of giving up a memory. Sure, she would always remember Daniel, but the ring meant something. It meant everything. But then again, so did Emma.

“If you want your son back, if you want your _revenge_...give it to me,” Jefferson sounded like a darker, more demanding version of himself.

Regina's sadness immediately left her body and she replaced it with disdain. She hadn't wanted revenge. That's not why she wanted to do what they were there to do. To give herself a moment and also to keep the upper hand, she pointed to the floor.

Jefferson put the hat on the floor and stepped back to give her some space since that was what she seemed to want.

Regina looked at the ring again and almost cried. She felt herself on the brink of tears as she thought about how to proceed. It all became very real in that moment that Regina had to make a choice. A choice between Daniel and Emma.

Even though Daniel was dead, she allowed herself to keep the ring as her anchor, a constant reminder of why she'd brought everyone to Storybrooke. When she'd started to doubt herself or lost her strength and resolve, she pulled out the ring for a brief moment of clarity. He gave her power figuratively and literally when she thought she had nothing left to give or gain.

But Emma gave her Henry and hope. Though their time together started off as a battle of sexual stamina and asserting control, power, and nearly ownership, she stood in front of Jefferson's hat with a sense of wholeness when she thought about the infuriating blonde. That infuriating quality about her wasn't even a con on a pros and cons list. Not after how Emma had managed to make her feel. It was like she had a piece of Daniel back, a piece of that hopefulness for a better and happier future. It was a piece of a promise that she could be the version of herself she once was and wished she still could be.

The choice was made. She leaned over the hat and let go.

“If only I could have you,” Regina whispered as thin, purple smoke swirled around the hat that started to spin.

She smiled as she watched the magic work, but something was wrong. It wasn't as windy as she remembered it was before her journey to Wonderland. There was only smoke and not a void within the tornado of her magic like it would if a door had been opened between worlds.

“What's wrong? Why isn't it opening a portal?”

“The magic, it's not enough. We can't go _anywhere_.”

“Then you failed,” she gravelly breathed out and stared off as she felt the biggest sense of regret. She had given up everything to keep Emma from knowing the truth, from knowing the things she was sure would destroy the younger woman. And it seemed it had been for nothing. Sooner or later, as Gold said he'd ensured, the curse would break and she would lose everything. She would hurt the two people she loved the most and it would all be her fault.

“Maybe not,” Jefferson quickly defended himself. “There's enough magic to _touch_ the other side just not enough to get us there. There might be just enough to reach through and retrieve something.”

“I can bring something back,” Regina asked with a strange amount of hope for a broken woman like herself and crouched down beside the hat alongside Jefferson. “That's all I really ever needed from this.”

“Then why did you propose a journey?”

“Because I didn't know I could bring something back,” Regina snapped.

Jefferson sighed then continued with his previous discussion.

“Is there an object that can help you? Perhaps I can open enough and reach through and grab it. It would have to be small. Something that you can grab with your hand. Is there _anything_ that can help you?”

“Yes. Yes, I believe there is.”

“Then you need to direct me to where the time and place this thing exists,” he said as he lifted the hat and held it out to her.

“How?”

“Think about it. Guide the hat.”

Regina nodded as she took the hat and held it in front of her. She closed her eyes and remembered the moment as clearly as though it had been yesterday. With a grin, she set down the hat and opened her eyes. When she stepped away from it, the hat rumbled to life and started to spin. Purple smoke billowed around the hat and an apple as red as blood shot through the smallest of openings to the Enchanted Forest.

Regina effortlessly caught the apple and turned it in her hand to inspect it. Just as she remembered it, with no effect on the past, she held the bitten apple she gave to Snow as a punishment for her misdeeds and an insurance policy that no harm would come to her dear Prince Charming.

“Is this it?”

“Yes. Yes, it is,” she grinned.

“And my daughter? My Grace?”

“First things first. The deal's not done. Not until I solve the next conundrum. How to get the Savior to taste my forbidden fruit.”

Well, that was a loaded statement, especially since the Savior had already tasted her forbidden fruit. Multiple times.

At first, that thought brought her joy and an almost lascivious grin to her features. Then she thought about what that particular forbidden fruit in her hand meant, the one Emma had yet to taste. The apple. It would take everything from Regina and give Emma a peace the real world hadn't and couldn't bring her. Although, she would have to tweak the curse a bit since it was designed to cause pain. That was the exact opposite of why she relied on magic to keep Emma from breaking her curse.

It had to be done. She kept telling herself that even as she worked off a recipe for apple turnovers with the poisoned apple as her main ingredient.

* * *

Emma glanced at Regina every chance she got all throughout dinner. Any time Henry ducked his head or paid more attention to his food than the conversation, Emma made sure to look at the brunette.

Regina caught every single one of them too. She let the guilt eat away at her for the first ten minutes or so, but Emma started to worry and took it upon herself to reach out and touch Regina's hand. That made Regina smile and plans be damned, she was going to live in the moment since they were the last ones she had with the beautiful and strong Emma Swan.

Henry rushed off to watch a movie that Emma said she'd stay to watch with him until his bedtime and when he fled to the living room, Regina collected the dirty dishes.

She went to grab Henry's plate, but Emma swooped in and cleared the rest of the table with a smile. Regina stared at the woman, baffled by Emma's domestic helpfulness, and earned a wink in response.

Regina smiled and looked down at the plates in her hand and fought to keep her composure. Anything to stop the impending tears. She lifted her head seconds later and the two walked into the kitchen together.

“How did I ever get lucky enough to meet you,” Regina asked.

She knew the answer: destiny. Fate. Whatever word you wanted to put to it, Regina was always meant to meet Emma. It had been set in stone the day Snow White and Prince Charming overcame her evil reign and tied the knot. If only she were always meant to keep Emma for the sake of her happiness. But she wasn't even meant to have Emma in the first place. Everything they had done, as real as it was, should never have happened if not as a way to get back at Snow. And her time with Emma was anything but revenge.

“You think you're lucky now? As I recall, there was a time you thought I was nothing more than a cheap and easy date,” Emma teased with a grin. “Congratulations on being my favorite woman to spread my legs for, by the way.”

“Your favorite?”

“There were only two or three others before you. And trust me when I say _none_ of them compare,” Emma said as she dropped the dishes beside the ones Regina had placed in the sink.

“You've been asking me to trust you an awful lot lately,” Regina said.

“All in the hope that one day you finally will,” Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and pulled her backward to bring them closer.

Regina smiled when she felt Emma's chin on her shoulder and rested her hands over Emma's arms.

“Dance with me,” Emma hummed in Regina's ear.

“I doubt you'd have any rhythm without music,” Regina joked.

“If that were true then you wouldn't have made all those intoxicating sounds last night,” Emma pressed her nose to Regina's neck and tilted her head up, which caused her nose to brush against Regina's skin until Emma stopped just below Regina's ear.

A recognizable and soon to be missed heat shot through Regina's body at the implication of and the memories elicited by Emma's words.

“Oh, you want that kind of dance, do you,” Regina saucily asked seconds before she pushed back against Emma and began a slow grind.

Emma gasped in Regina's ear and unclasped her hands to push them down to Regina's belt buckle. She hooked her thumbs in the waistband of Regina's dress slacks and tugged down the harder Regina pressed her ass into Emma's sex.

Regina covered Emma's hands with her own and partially laced her fingers with Emma's. Her touch spurred Emma on and she instantly felt Emma reciprocate the grind with a roll of her hips. She let go of one of Emma's hands and reached behind herself to tangle a hand in blonde tresses. Her hand pressed against the back of Emma's neck and held the younger woman incredibly close.

Emma slid her hand, the one Regina had under her own, to Regina's left hip while she slipped her other hand inside the other woman's pants. She cupped Regina's sex over the woman's panties and caused Regina to whimper with need.

Emma swayed her hips from right to left and forced Regina's clit to graze the heel of her palm as her hand slid further down Regina's sex.

Regina struggled to breathe. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back to rest it on Emma's shoulder, Emma's head nuzzled into the other side of her own neck. She swayed her hips from side to side and pressed into Emma then slowly dropped down to the floor with her hand still on Emma's neck. She let it slip down to the front of Emma's shoulder, but not any more than that before she pushed her ass out between Emma's legs, started to stand back up, and brushed against Emma's inner thighs on the way.

“Oh. My. God,” Emma breathed out just before Regina brought her ass to Emma's sex again.

Regina sped up the pace of her grind and rolled her hips in a circular motion.

“Where have you been hiding these moves,” Emma panted into Regina's hair.

Regina stayed lost in the moment and grinned as her breath hitched when she felt Emma match her pace and thrust against her.

“I thought I did this very well when I gave you that lap dance the other night,” Regina said, her voice husky from arousal.

_Just one last time_ , Regina thought as she continued to put on a good show for Emma. 

Emma gripped Regina's hip with bruising force as she lifted her head away from Regina's neck. Her nails sharply dug into Regina's outfit as though they wanted to tear off the pesky material, which Regina imagined could have very well been the case.

Regina whimpered when Emma slipped her hand beneath her damp panties and didn't stop until three fingers were buried knuckle deep inside her. She turned her head to the side and glided her lips across Emma's jawline to her earlobe, arched her back, and rolled her hips into Emma's touch. She flicked the very tip of her tongue against Emma's earlobe before she nipped it with playful teeth.

After two thrusts, Emma growled and removed her hand from Regina's hip. Before the brunette could stop her or even miss the hand on her hip, Emma grabbed Regina's left thigh and swept up the woman's leg. She stomped Regina's heel against the edge of counter in front of them before she continued to thrust deep into Regina.

Emma let go of Regina's leg when she knew the brunette would keep it there and brought that hand up to grope Regina's breast.

Regina opened her mouth in a silent moan and tightened her fist in Emma's hair. She accidentally tugged on it and Emma had to fight to keep her head from snapping back at the force. She met every single one of Emma's thrusts by use of her hips and felt the heel of Emma's palm press down on her clit. She bit down just below Emma's ear and let go of Emma's hair with one hand only to grab it with the other. Her recently freed hand wrapped around Emma and squeezed her ass. With each squeeze, she pulled Emma closer to her.

Emma opened her stance to keep up with Regina's demands then sped up her pace in retaliation for needing control over the situation.

Regina emitted an uncharacteristically high pitched moan in Emma's ear and caused the blonde to grin. Regina opened her eyes when she sensed Emma's smugness and deviously grinned back.

“Your mistake of the day,” Regina panted, the volume of her voice low to keep their conversation and their current activity between only them. “Was wearing a skirt.”

Before Emma could question what that meant, she felt Regina's hand slide up her skirt from the back and find her opening. Her real mistake was deciding to change out of her tights just before dinner once she was already at the house because they were itchy and the gauze on her leg wasn't noticeable.

Regina skillfully pulled Emma's panties to the side and tested Emma's slickness when she slipped a single finger into her heat.

“Not fair,” Emma moaned. “You always have a comeback.”

Regina chuckled, but it quickly morphed into a whimper when Emma's fingers curled and hit just the right spot. She clenched around Emma's fingers and relaxed her grip on the younger woman's hair then tightened it.

“Wait for me,” Emma breathlessly purred in Regina's ear.

“Then hold on tight because it's going to be a quick ride,” Regina warned and added a second finger.

Regina matched Emma's pace and pushed into Emma every time the other woman slid into her. Both women simultaneously moaned and turned their heads to make eye contact, though they could barely keep their eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time.

“How flexible are you,” Emma panted.

“You've been sleeping with me for about a month and you don't have an answer to that question?”

“Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you,” Emma said before she started to kick at Regina's right heel, the only one she had on the ground. “Lean your right foot to the left.”

After a few well-placed kicks and Regina's submission, Regina's foot slipped off the sole of the heel and she stood on the side straps of the heel. She instantly lost two inches and fell backward into Emma, but the blonde pushed forward and kept her balanced.

Regina wanted to ask what that was about and even opened her mouth to speak, but Emma's pace changed again. Not only that, but Emma also rocked her own body back and forth. Every time she thrust into Emma, the blonde would push her hips back to meet the thrusts. Every time Regina pulled most of the way out of Emma, the younger woman would roll her hips forward. Emma's sex would brush against Regina's ass and suddenly, it all made sense.

Friction.

Without the extra two inches to make Regina her normal height, her ass wouldn't hit the spot Emma needed it to: her clit. To make it easier, Regina used the time when Emma nearly removed her fingers to push her ass back and roughly brush against Emma's clit through their clothes.

Regina clenched around Emma's fingers again and looked for the right spot-

“Mm,” Emma drew out a moan. “Right. There.”

Regina tilted her head back while Emma's lips sought out Regina's. They panted against each other and their lips brushed several times, but they never kissed. Even if they wanted to, the need to part their lips in silent moans and screams would have broken the kiss anyway.

Emma's walls tightened around Regina's fingers and her breath hitched like it had in Regina's office earlier that day.

Regina knew what that meant and she would never forget it. She blearily opened her eyes and watched Emma's open seconds after. They stared through hooded eyelids at each other while she choked back more moans and reached the very edge of something so beautifully beyond words.

Regina sucked in a breath and only released it when she came undone.

Emma sighed when that moment came for her.

The one thing they had in common about their near simultaneous climax was what they said.

“Emma.”

“Regina.”

Both names fell from a pair of parted lips and overlapped in a way that could only mean they shared the contented and satisfied feeling they expressed behind the spoken names.

If only they'd had the strength to say the words they really meant in that very moment.

“Hey, Emma,” Henry yelled as his voice grew louder the closer he got to the kitchen. “Are you gonna watch this movie with me or what?”

“Shit,” Emma panicked.

Regina's eyes widened at the same time and both scrambled to rid themselves of the scarring evidence their coated fingers would provide the ten year old.

Emma grabbed Regina's left leg and quickly pulled her heeled foot off the sink while Regina lunged forward and turned on the water. Immediately, both of them rushed their hands under the faucet and rinsed off.

They moved fluidly together and in record time, managed to look like a cutesy couple washing dishes together.

Which was what Henry saw when he popped into the kitchen. He frowned when he saw Emma standing behind Regina with her arms wrapped around his brunette mother.

“I'm supposed to be in bed in forty minutes,” Henry said to Emma as he narrowed his eyes at his mothers in their overly affectionate embrace.

Emma turned to face him, but kept both hands in the sink while Regina poured dish soap on them and thoroughly cleaned them for her.

“Yeah, sorry. We got caught up with the dishes,” Emma answered. “I'll be there in a minute.”

Henry stayed in the kitchen, displeased with an angry glare trained on Emma.

“Kid, I said I was sorry, okay? I'm almost finished in here. Go wait for me in the living room.”

“I've been waiting for you for the last ten minutes,” he exclaimed.

“Henry, please,” Regina turned to her left so she only exposed her clean hand, the one she hadn't needed to wash but would anyway. “Wait for Emma on the couch. I promise she'll be out in sixty seconds or less.”

Henry's eyes narrowed further.

“Since when is she Emma to you?”

“Not nearly as long as it's been none of your business,” Regina strictly said. “Now go.”

Henry turned and left the room in a huff.

Once they were alone again, Emma took Regina's hand and weaved their fingers together regardless of the fact they were both soaked from their wash in the sink.

Regina looked up and saw Emma's eyes already on her.

Emma smiled.

“I'd call that race to hide proof of our copulation true team work.”

Regina chuckled.

“Yet another way you've managed to surprise me. You know the word 'copulation'.”

Emma rolled her eyes and her smile only spread.

“Well, I should get to my motherly duties and watch this movie with him.”

“Indeed.”

“Hey,” Emma made sure to get Regina's full attention before she continued. “You know I'd lasso the moon for you, right?”

Regina furrowed her brow, confused.

“There is no way that is physically possible,” Regina said.

Emma laughed.

“There's this movie called 'It's a Wonderful Life.' I used to think it was a lame story because, when I first saw it, I didn't think I had anything to live for and no one would care if I didn't exist.”

“And now?”

“I told you I'd lasso the moon! That should say it all.”

Regina still looked lost.

“Watch the movie, see for yourself. No way am I gonna ruin it for you.”

Regina smiled.

“Then I suppose I'll have to find the time.”

“I guarantee it's worth it,” Emma said before she tapped her forehead to Regina's temple then pulled away and released Regina's hand.

Emma started to leave, but Regina stopped her.

“Are you still spending the night with Miss Blanchard,” Regina asked.

Emma spun around and apologetically smiled as she nodded.

“Okay. I'll see you at Henry's bedtime to say goodnight,” Regina said.

Emma smiled again, a little lustful and a little warm and fuzzy.

“I'll hold you to it.”

* * *

With one of the biggest internal struggles she'd ever suffered through, and not her first of the day, Regina handed over a container with the apple turnover to Emma once Henry was tucked in. They awkwardly stood in the doorway together and just stared at each other.

The longer Emma stood in front with the turnover, the more Regina started to second guess her decision. But she couldn't take it back. It was already in the blonde's hands. The only way to pry it away from the woman would be to come up with some ridiculous excuse like, “I think I lost a nail in there so you know what? I'm just going to spare you that grotesque search.”

When that thought crossed her mind, Regina had truthfully and quickly considered it.

Until she remembered that she and Emma had slept together way too much for the other woman to know she didn't wear fake nails and kept them trimmed. And then that excuse went right out the window.

She was back to square one, her attention stuck between the blonde and the turnover.

Finally, Emma broke the silence.

“See you tomorrow?”

Regina smiled as genuinely and as warmly as she could when she knew she would most likely not see Emma tomorrow.

“Yes.”

“'Kay. Well, bye.”

And just like that, both women gravitated toward each other. And just like that, the hug in Regina's office was not the last one she would have with the destined Savior. That one, the one in Regina's threshold, would be the last one.

Thoughts of making it count and not letting go wildly ran through the brunette's mind, but she had been able to do only one. She wrapped her arms around Emma and squeezed with a familiarity they'd certainly reached in their relationship, but hadn't displayed or expressed to each other in such a way.

One last smell of Emma's hair, one last time to mold her body to the younger woman's, one last opportunity to come clean and at least voice the reason behind her actions even if she never said out loud to Emma what those actions were. One last chance at happiness.

And it left her alone in the doorway as she watched it disappear down the walkway and slide into a beat up yellow Bug she hated and loved all the same.

_I did it for you_ , Regina thought as she stood with the door wide open even after Emma drove away.  _I sacrificed everything for you._

And no one but Regina would ever understand the heavy truth and weight behind those words.

* * *

Barely awake, Emma lazily drifted down the narrow stairway of the apartment and went to answer the door. The one night she hadn't spent with Regina and she hadn't been able to wake up on time for work.

When Emma checked the clock on her way to the door, she saw that it was almost eight in the morning. She sighed when she reached for the doorknob and wrenched it open like the person on the other side would receive an ass kicking if they didn't have important business there.

She opened the door completely and had a similar experience to the night Henry had changed her life when he'd shown up at her place in Boston and said he was her son. Sure enough, it was the ten year old boy on the other side of her door that morning.

“Kid. What's up? Don't you have school?”

“I wanted to talk to you about my mom,” he said as barreled into her place yet again, just like he had that night a couple months ago.

“Can't it wait until later? You've got learning to do and I've got Sheriff-ing to do.”

“No, it can't wait because I'm telling you, she's the Evil Queen. The closer you get to her, the longer you're around her thinking she's just like everyone else, the worse it's going to be when you break the curse.”

“Okay, it's way too early to listen to all this,” Emma grumbled as she walked back toward the stairs. “Come on. I'll walk you to school.”

“No, you need to listen,” Henry said as he turned to follow her and keep eye contact.

When he turned, however, his eyes glanced over the kitchen and he saw a plastic container he thought he recognized. He suspiciously stared at it before he saw some kind of pastry inside it set on top of parchment paper. That was not something Emma did. What Emma did was somehow convince Regina to dump his breakfast in a sandwich bag to take to school when he was late and hadn't eaten yet.  _That_ was her handiwork. What he saw in the kitchen had Regina written all over it.

“What's that,” he asked as he walked toward the kitchen bar where the container sat.

“Dessert. Your mom gave it to me last night.”

Henry's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

“What's it made of,” he worriedly asked as he popped open the lid and smelled it. “Apples?! You aren't gonna eat this, are you?”

“I am, actually. What's wrong with it?”

“The Evil Queen used an apple to poison Snow White.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“What? It's fine, kid. Nothing's gonna happen if I eat it.”

Henry stared up her with skepticism still clear across his face.

“Here, I'll show you,” Emma said as she picked up the turnover and tried to raise it to her mouth.

“No,” Henry yelled and yanked the pastry out of Emma's hands.

He turned his back on Emma and took several large steps away from the kitchen to keep the tainted dessert away from her.

“Henry,” Emma tiredly warned as she took a couple steps toward him.

“I'm sorry it had to come to this. You may not believe in the curse...or in me. But I believe in you.”

He bit into the turnover and still seemed perfectly healthy as he chewed then swallowed it.

“See,” Emma asked. “Now can I take you to school?”

Just as she finished her question, Henry collapsed with the turnover still in his right hand.

“Henry,” Emma softly asked, confused. “Henry?!”

Emma started to panic when the only response was silence. She placed a hand over her stomach and called out to him one last time before she decided he wasn't going to wake up.

 


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All line breaks in this chapter are breaks in time. Asterisks separate different things that are happening at the same time.

Panic. Fear. Guilt.

Emma felt all of those emotions full force as she frantically insisted to Dr. Whale that Henry had taken a bite out of the turnover she held up to him in a sealed sandwich bag.

Dr. Whale argued the turnover couldn't have caused the boy's illness.

Frustrated, Emma continued to ask what could have brought on Henry's sudden health decline while she went to his backpack and dug through it for any other explanation. When she turned it over and dumped out the bag's contents on the foot of the hospital bed, Dr. Whale said something that stuck with her and gave her a moment of true clarity.

“It's like...”

Emma stared down with wide eyes at Henry's book of fairy tales. She slowly, hesitantly, reached out for it as she remembered what Henry had told her about belief before he ate the turnover.

“Like magic.”

The second she held the book out in front of herself, she jolted in reaction to the strangest and undefinable shock followed by flashes of memory.

Snow White and Prince Charming saying goodbye to their daughter, Henry's constant reminders that she was in his book and that she was the Savior, Prince Charming placing Emma in a tree trunk – the wardrobe – and saying, “Find us.”

As soon as the memories stopped passing through her mind in bits and pieces, her breathing shallow and erratic, Regina worriedly called out to Dr. Whale upon entry to Henry's hospital room.

“Where's my son?”

Emma's expression changed from shocked speechless to wildly enraged. Instantly, Emma spun toward Regina as the woman approached Dr. Whale.

“You did this,” Emma growled.

Wordlessly, Emma grabbed Regina's arm and yanked the brunette out of the room. She emitted a predatory growl and threw Regina into a nearby medical supply closet.

Regina stumbled into a supply rack and turned to face Emma. She defensively held out her hands, but it didn't do her any good.

Emma gripped Regina's biceps and violently pulled her away from the rack to slam the other woman into a row of lockers between the supply rack and the closet door.

“You did this,” Emma viciously repeated.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Emma pinned her to the lockers with her forearm pressed horizontally across Regina's chest. Her right hand gripped tightly to the lapel of Regina's blazer.

“Stop this,” Regina loudly begged. “My son-”

“He's sick because of you. That turnover you gave me. He ate it!”

“What?”

No more than a whisper, Regina could barely voice the one word through her shock. After a moment, she gained volume.

“It was meant for you!”

“It's true, isn't it,” Emma asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“It's _true_ , isn't it,” Emma yelled. After a moment, she dropped her tone until she was barely audible. “...All of it.”

With tears in her eyes ready to fall, Regina thudded her head against the locker behind her out of defeat.

“Yes.”

“Why couldn't you just leave things alone,” Emma cried.

“Because as long as you believed I wasn't the Evil Queen, you could never truly love me. But I knew the curse would break. I couldn't fight it. And then I thought I could go back and fix it. I thought if I changed the past by going back to the Enchanted Forest, I could make sure you never had to know what it's like to be alone. You wouldn't have to grow up the way you did and I just...I didn't want you to be hurt.”

“Everything...was a lie?”

“Not everything,” Regina pleadingly tried to assure her.

“No, just the part about who you really are,” Emma bitterly said.

“I didn't want it to come to this,” Regina confessed even through the pain she felt. “I figured all I needed to do was put you under a sleeping curse and you wouldn't feel pain anymore and I wouldn't lose Henry, the curse would remain intact.”

“You fix this. You _wake_ him up!”

“I _can't_!”

“Don't you have magic?”

“That was the last of it,” Regina sadly said with a lack of hope.

A few seconds later, Regina pushed Emma's arm away.

“It was supposed to put _you_ to sleep.”

“What's it gonna do to him?”

Regina shook her head.

“I don't know. …Magic here is unpredictable.”

“So...so he could-”

“Yes ,” Regina gravely said, terrified while her eyes were filled with self-loathing and anger.

Emma breathed heavily as she cried. Her lashes were thick from the tears that had rolled down her cheeks. She rarely cried in front of anyone, but when it came to Henry and Regina, she didn't do anything she usually did.

“So what do we do?”

“We need help,” Regina walked past the blonde to remove the option of Emma pinning her against the lockers again. “There's one other person in this town who knows about this, knows about magic.”

“Mr. Gold.”

“Actually, he goes by Rumpelstiltskin.”

* * *

The bell above the door to Mr. Gold's pawn shop clanged with a new arrival.

“Do my eyes deceive me or is that the look of a believer,” Mr. Gold said as he wiped off his counter and looked up to see Emma, followed by Regina, as they headed straight toward him.

“We need your help,” Emma said.

“Indeed you do. It seems quite a tragic ailment has befallen our young friend.”

Gold looked at Regina before he continued.

“I told you magic comes with a price.”

“Henry shouldn't have to pay it,” Regina shook her head.

“No, you should, but alas, we are where we are.”

“Can you help us,” Emma asked, slightly hopeful.

“Of course. True Love, the only magic powerful enough to transcend realms and break any curse. Luckily for you, I happen to have bottled some.”

“You did,” Regina asked, surprised and also a bit hurt that her magic mentor had apparently kept secrets from her.

“Oh, yes,” Rumple said as he barely took his eyes off Emma. “From strands of your parent's hair. I made the most powerful potion in all the realm. So powerful that when I created the dark curse, I placed a single drop on the parchment. Just a little safety valve.”

“That's why I'm the Savior, that's why I can break the curse,” Emma breathed out her realization.

“So you get it,” Gold asked with an impish grin.

“I don't care about breaking the curse, all I care about is saving Henry,” Emma boldly said.

“Which is why it's your lucky day. I didn't _use_ all the potion.” 

Regina seethed. Her features softened with slight shock at Rumple's confession.

“I saved some. For a rainy day,” Gold added.

“Well, it's storming like a bitch. Where is it?”

“Where it is, isn't the problem. Getting it...is what should worry you.”

“Enough with the riddles. What do we do,” Regina asked.

“You do nothing. It has to be Miss Swan,” Gold informed them.

“He's _my_ son. It should be me,” Regina argued. 

“All due respect, but he's _her_ son and it has to be her. She's the _product_ of magic. She must be the one to find it,” Gold somewhat haughtily said with a sense of pride and pleasure.

“I can do it,” Emma flatly said with a straight face.

“Don't trust him,” Regina warned Emma with a concerned tone.

“What choice do we have,” Emma asked, tired and still a little frustrated.

“That's right, dearie, what choice _do_ you have?”

Regina, practically in the shadows considering the way she stood behind Emma, looked down at the ground. She knew the answer to his question, which was why Gold looked at Regina knowingly, but she didn't want to take that risk. She never had been able to do it before, even when she had considered letting the curse break.

“ _Where_ is this magic,” Emma spoke up when Regina remained silent.

“Tell me, Your Majesty, is our _friend_ still in the basement,” Gold said as he looked from Emma to Regina.

“You twisted little imp. You hid it with her,” Regina asked, angry though she desperately wanted to believe he was lying.

“Oh, no, no. Not _with_ her,” Gold corrected. “... _In_ her. I knew you couldn't resist bringing her over.”

“Who's _her_ ,” Emma inquired.

“Someone you should be prepared for,” Rumple warned as he cleaned the top of the long, thin case in front of him on the counter. “Where you're going...you're going to need this.”

Gold opened the case.

Regina was not pleased with what she saw when she looked inside it.

Emma stared down into the case, confused.

“What is that,” Emma asked.

“Your father's sword,” Rumple answered.

* * *

Emma approached Henry's hospital bed with his book of fairytales in her hand. She sadly smiled at him as she came to stand at his bedside.

“Henry, you were right about the curse. I should have believed you. I'm sorry.”

Emma tucked the book under Henry's pillow.

“For when you wake up,” she told him, his eyes closed as he laid unconscious in the bed.

Emma turned and headed for the door when Regina cautiously entered the room.

Regina's eyes were focused on Henry, sad to see what she had done to him.

Emma was beyond pissed off, but she was also a little scared of what she had to do. She wasn't sure what to expect and had only a vague idea as to why she needed Prince Charming's sword. She didn't show her fear, however. She never did. Although, she'd let Regina in more so than she'd let anyone in since Henry's father. She fell for it all. Again.

When she passed by Regina, she had planned to leave the room without saying a word. Regina, however, needed confirmation so she stopped between Henry's bedside and the door and spoke.

“Do you know where to meet?”

Her tone betrayed the strength Regina preferred to show, especially in her weakest moments. She sounded sad and hurt. There was also a hint of self-loathing that told Emma that Regina knew she deserved whatever cold- and bitterness from the blonde given the circumstances.

“Yeah. Don't be late,” Emma furiously growled and left.

Regina walked up to Henry's bedside and leaned over him.

“I'm sorry,” Regina said through choked back sobs as she tried to refrain from crying, though it was clear that was all she wanted to do.

She truly was apologetic and for more than one reason.

As she stared down at Henry and thought about how much she'd screwed everything up, she didn't even notice the shadowed figure standing in the corner.

“Pity, isn't it,” Jefferson said as he started to walk toward Regina. “There's...nothing harder than not knowing whether you'll ever see your child again.”

“Jefferson, now is not a good time.”

Jefferson came up to the other side of Henry's bed.

“Well, for _me_ it's the perfect time,” he told her. “I'm here to collect. Where- Where is she? Where is my daughter.”

“ _Em-ma_ was supposed to eat that apple and she didn't. As far as I'm concerned that makes our deal null and void,” Regina growled.

“I did what you asked. You're not going to screw me over again.”

He mirthlessly chuckled, though it sounded more like a huffed out sigh.

“Look at it however you want, Jefferson. The fact is I'm done with you.”

“But I-I'm not done with you,” Jefferson said like a petulant child that wanted to play longer and would either pout or scream or resort to a temper tantrum to get what they wanted.

“What are you going to do? Kill me? I know you want to, but I also know you can't.”

“Do you?”

“Yes. You don't have it in you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to save my son.”

Regina left the room without pause and thankfully wasn't stopped by the mad man.

* * *

Emma stood outside the closed down and boarded up Storybrooke Library. She rocked back and forth on her heels with Prince Charming's sword in her hand and did an impatient dance as she waited for Regina.

Regina walked up to the library from the other direction with the keys to the town in her hand. The second they were inside and Regina tured on the lights-

“What is this place,” Emma asked as she looked around at the newly lit up room.

“Would you like a tour or shall we just get to it-”

“Lead the way,” Emma cut her off, irritated.

Regina followed Emma's command and headed toward a wall with a mirror in the shape of an apple tree on it, complete with star shaped mirrors above the tree.

“What the hell is with you and apples,” Emma blurted out as she gripped the hilt of the sword tighter.

Regina stopped in front of the mirror with her back to Emma. She had tensed when she'd stopped and hesitated for a moment before she slowly turned to the blonde.

“If I explained, would you even _care_ ,” Regina asked.

Emma rolled her eyes.

“I'm not the one who lied about... _everything_! Fairytales are real, you really _are_ the Evil Queen, and I...I basically poured my heart out to you!”

Regina looked down at the ground, ashamed.

“I'm sorry. I... There was no other way,” Regina quietly confessed.

“No other way?! You _had_ to poison me. That's it? What the hell is _wrong_ with you?”

“So many things, dear,” Regina morosely said.

Emma sighed and shook her head.

“Whatever. Let's just...do this.”

Regina fell back a step and looked as though she'd been physically hurt on top of the emotional hurt she felt whenever Emma brushed her off. She took a few seconds to collect herself as she turned back to the mirror then pressed her hand to one of the branches.

The wall opened upward like a garage door and revealed a bolted up wall with a slit through the middle. The cogs that kept the wall closed turned and unlocked the wall before it split and opened to reveal an old elevator complete with rope and pulley.

“Whoa,” Emma exclaimed as she stared wide-eyed at the contraption.

Regina turned her head to look straight at Emma.

“Get in,” she ordered.

“After you,” Emma nervously insisted.

“It's a two man job. The elevator's hand operated,” Regina started to explain. “I _have_ to stay up here and lower you down.”

“And I'm just supposed to _trust_ you,” Emma asked.

Regina clenched her jaw tight, angry because of Emma's hurtful question.

“I don't think you have much choice in the matter, _Miss Swan_.”

“This battle I'm supposed to fight, _who_ is it? What isdown there,” Emma asked as she tried to look down the elevator for a peek as to what was to come.

“An old friend.”

“Then why don't you go talk to them?”

“Because her punishment here was different than anyone else's. I trapped her...in a different form, “Regina slowly said. “She doesn't want to hear from me. You have to trust me on that.”

“Okay. I will go down there. But let's be clear about something,” Emma said as she stepped closer to Regina. “ _Your Majesty_.”

She stopped right in front of the brunette and the two of them breathed the same air.

Regina almost cringed at the way Emma used her formal, Enchanted Forest title. It had been completely different than the last time she'd used it after she'd been...knighted.

“The only reason you're not dead is because I need your help to save Henry. _He_ dies, so do you,” Emma finished.

“Well then, let's get on with it.”

Regina slowly raked her eyes over Emma's body from head to toe. She almost faltered as she remembered what the blonde looked like as she writhed beneath her, moved above her, how Emma kissed her, and how it felt to be tangled up with Emma sexually and otherwise. She flicked her eyes back up to meet Emma's gaze and opened her mouth to say something else, but Emma stopped her.

“Was any of it real,” Emma timidly asked, afraid of the truth.

Regina took a deep breath and decided to finally be honest right away with the younger woman.

“ _None_ of this, aside from Henry, was real until I met you. ...Now here's what you're going to have to do.”

*** * ***

Mary Margaret sat on the edge of Henry's hospital bed and read to him. She finished a scene from the story of Snow White then closed the book and let it rest in her lap before she spoke to Henry.

“I gave you this book because I know real life doesn't always have a happy ending, but I thought...”

She trailed off and Henry's heart monitor started to beep frantically.

“Dr. Whale,” Mary Margaret yelled, on the brink of tears.

Dr. Whale rushed into the room and checked Henry and the machines he was hooked up to.

“Dr. Whale, what is that? ...What- What's wrong,” Mary Margaret asked.

“Nurse, get her out of here. Now,” Dr. Whale barked.

“What is it?”

“His heart rate's falling. Come on, Henry. Henry?”

A shadowed figure walked out of the room, unnoticed, while Mary Margaret was escorted from the hospital room.

* * *

A motherfucking dragon.

That's what had awaited Emma in the library basement.

She had defensively held up the sword when she cowered away from the flames that erupted from Regina's scaly friend before she looked at the useless silver and tossed it aside.

Because who in their right mind would think a sword would work against a dragon?

Anyone in their right mind that didn't have to slay the damn thing.

Emma had pulled out her gun and tried to shoot at it, ever the cop slash former bounty hunter. She emptied her clip into the dragon and the area that surrounded it. Without any more bullets, Emma threw the gun away and ran from the dragon.

It was when she hid from the dragon behind a pillar of some sort that she spotted the sword as its silver glinted in the faint light of the library's basement. She had darted out and grabbed it as she rolled across the dirty cement to avoid the fire the dragon had breathed out.

Finally, after a few more perilous seconds spent coming up with an impromptu plan, Emma hurled the sword at the dragon and defeated it with the long blade stuck in its chest.

She got back to the elevator and called out to Regina to let her up. Within seconds, the elevator lurched to life and she was headed back up to the main floor of the library, a golden egg in hand.

After a short amount of time, the elevator abruptly stopped and nearly knocked Emma onto her knees.

“Regina! What the hell was that?”

Silence.

“Regina!”

“Miss Swan,” Gold asked as he peered over the edge of the open elevator shaft. “You've got it?”

“Mr. Gold, what are you doing here?”

“I've come to check on you. And I'm glad I did. Regina's abandoned you, sabotaged the elevator.”

“What,” Emma asked, utterly shocked. “I'm comin' up.”

She started to climb onto the top of the elevator when Gold quickly spoke up.

“No, there's- there's no time for this. You can't possibly scale the wall and carry that.”

“Yeah? Well, I can try,” Emma said and continued to make her way up the elevator shaft.

“No, just toss it up. Henry's going to be fine. I promise. We're running out of time. Toss it up.”

Emma stared up at him with wide eyes and a worried expression.

“Okay,” she softly agreed.

She wanted to believe he'd actually help.

“You hold on to it. I'll be right up,” she said as she tossed up the egg.

Gold caught it and grinned then disappeared from the top of the shaft.

Emma hurried the rest of the way up the elevator and managed to hoist herself back onto the tiled library floor.

Regina moaned and called out through duct tape as she struggled against rope bonds around her wrists and ankles. She fidgeted in a wooden chair as she looked over her shoulder at Emma with sheer panic written all over her face.

“Regina!”

Emma jogged over to the brunette and immediately ripped off the duct tape.

“He tricked you. _How_ could you give him that,” Regina said, half on the verge of tears and half-furious to know Emma had more easily put her trust in Gold over herself.

“Where is he,” Emma asked as she finished untying Regina's wrists then bent over to untie Regina's feet.

“Gone,” Regina said as she angrily pushed off the chair, ready to find Gold and kick his ass. She didn't even notice how unbelievably close Emma's head was to the waistband of her dress slacks.

“ _Gold_ ,” Regina growled as Emma started to untie her other foot. “He manipulated all of this.”

“He can't be that far,” Emma said as she completely freed Regina, who immediately stood, and flung the rope aside.

The two of them tried to rush for the door when both their phones rang.

“It's the hospital,” Emma breathed out as she looked from her phone to Regina, heavily concerned, then answered.

* * *

Emma and Regina ran up the hospital stairs as fast as they could with Emma taking them two steps at a time in front of the brunette. Both of them kept looking at how far they had to go to reach the top of the stairs, their hearts beating rapidly with fear and pain and hoping against all odds they would get to Henry in time.

Unfortunately, when they both came to his room and Emma burst through the door, they heard Dr. Whale confirm their worst fear as mothers.

“We did everything we could.”

“I'm sorry,” Mother Superior said to them. “You're too late.”

It seemed like the air left Emma's lungs and time slowed down as she sadly stared at Henry. He was only a few feet away in the bed, but he was the palest Emma had ever seen him.

He was shirtless and several wires ran across his tiny frame, his eyes closed and mouth agape as one nurse pulled off the oxygen mask and another started to remove the defibrillator patches from his chest.

Regina, still in the hall when she heard the tragic news, trudged toward the glass divider between Henry's room and the hallway. She had never felt so much regret in her life as she had when saw the same thing Emma did. Henry: Pale. Lifeless. Gone. She pressed a hand to her stomach and let the tears fall.

*** * ***

Gold limped toward the only well in Storybrooke not too far from the town line. His cane crushed several wood chips, dirt, and leaves on the forest floor. He stopped in front of the well and reached into the inside pocket of his dress coat. From it, he retrieved a clear vile filled with two glowing strands of hair.

He smirked as he held up the vile at his eye line between his middle finger and thumb. He leaned toward the well and dangled the vile over the blackness below. His smirk widened and after a second of pause, he released the vile and allowed it to plummet to the bottom of the well.

 *** * ***  

Emma's cheeks were stained before she even reached his hospital bed.

Regina joined Emma in the room and shook her head as she looked over at Henry.

“No,” Regina cried then emitted a strangled sob.

Regina instantly turned and leaned into Emma's side as she clutched the blonde's leather jacket. “No.”

Emma thickly swallowed and her expression went from sad to angered as soon as she felt Regina touch her. The anger dissipated after a moment and she allowed Regina to cling to her, though she never returned the embrace.

Regina cried into the crook of Emma's neck and tugged on the jacket as she attempted to burrow her face further into Emma's neck.

“I'm sorry,” Regina cried and held onto the younger woman tighter. “I didn't- I'm _so_ sorry. Emma-”

Regina choked on her tears and barely managed to finish a sentence.

Emma broke away from Regina's hold and sniffled. She struggled to take a deep breath as her legs carried her to the side of Henry's bed. When she stood beside his limp form, she brushed his hair out of his face and more tears slid down her cheeks.

Emma leaned over him and the tips of her blonde hair brushed against the right hand corner of his bed as well as the side of his pillow.

“I love you,” Emma said and placed a kiss on his forehead.

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and a tear rolled down her cheek. It dropped onto his forehead next to the place where her lips remained pressed to him and a rainbow light burst from the point of contact.

The light swept over the entire room and expelled throughout the entire town. It hit every single person with a wave of love and memory.

The only thing that mattered to both Emma and Regina in that moment, however, was Henry as his eyes popped open.

“I love you too,” Henry said to Emma before his lips curled into a warm but tired smile. “You saved me.”

“You did it,” Regina said as she stared at Emma, amazed.

Emma looked from Henry to Regina then back to Henry, confused.

“Henry, what's going on,” Emma asked.

“The curse. I think you broke it,” Henry replied.

“That was True Love's kiss,” Mother Superior, or rather the Blue Fairy, slowly informed everyone in earshot.

“No. No,” Regina's anger started to rise to cover up her true feelings, her genuine worry about her not being the one to prove her love for Henry. Or anyone else for that matter.

“If I were you, Your Majesty, I'd find a place to hide,” the Blue Fairy sternly suggested.

Regina looked around the room from the Blue Fairy to Emma and finally, to Henry.

Regina took a few swift, long steps toward her son and lowered herself almost into a kneeling position in front of him, his legs draped over one side of the hospital bed while his hands gripped the edge of it.

When Regina spoke, she did it slowly and paused to ensure her attention never turned to Emma, though she still saw the blonde in her peripheral vision. She couldn't look at the woman she just knew was rightfully glaring at her.

“Henry,” Regina pleadingly started as her eyes flickered back and forth as she fought to keep them solely on her son. “No matter what you think, no matter what anyone tells you...”

The last four words she spoke were the hardest to say. She wanted to make sure Henry wasn't the only one who heard her loud and clear. Even though he and Emma were side by side and right in front of her, she wasn't sure Emma would understand all the ways she meant what she was about to say.

Without wasting anymore time, the words then flowed past Regina lips.

“I do love you.”

Regina didn't stay long enough to see Henry's reaction and started to back away from him as soon as the words left her lips.

Just before she turned near the door to walk forward through it, she glanced over at Emma one last time. She looked at Emma for the briefest of moments, but her gaze held an immense amount of emotion. If words weren't enough, she would use her final look at Emma to convey what she hadn't been brave enough to say until she wasn't just saying it to Emma. She hadn't been able to admit her feelings until that very moment, the moment she was suddenly running away from. But at least she'd said it. Maybe a little too late, but she'd finally said it.

And Regina knew she meant it.

Waiting to say it was just one more regret to add to a black-hearted Evil Queen's long and shameful list of deceit, loathing, and regret.

* * *

Clouds of purple frothed from the well after Rumpelstiltskin dropped the vile into it. The smoke gushed out like water in an overflowing bathtub and cascaded over the ground. It slowly swept across grass, dirt, and concrete as it made its way from the well to the surrounding woods and further into town.

Rumple grinned as he watched the purple clouds dance across the town and took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and reveled in the power the smoke gave him.

* * *

The usually gray town of Storybrooke was blanketed with purple smoke within twenty minutes as it sped up the closer it got to the center of town.

No one knew what it was, but it was large, ominous, and imminent.

Snow White and Prince Charming had finally cleared the Mary Margaret and David fog that had kept them away from each other for twenty-eight long years. They called out to each other as they walked down Main Street in opposite directions, lost in thought until they saw each other. They stopped themselves before they became ships passing in the night and smiled when their eyes locked.

They crossed the street and met each other halfway as they eliminated the distance between them. Instantly, they wrapped their arms around each other in a loving embrace and kissed.

Only when they separated to stare into the familiar eyes of the other did they notice the purple cloud that seemingly threatened all of Storybrooke. They quickly rushed into another embrace and Charming shielded Snow from the storm as they hugged in the center of the street.

In the hospital, Emma ran her fingers through Henry's hair and smiled at him when a nurse dropped a metal food tray. It clattered on the hospital floor and startled both Emma and Henry.

“Are you okay,” Emma asked as she hurried over to the nurse who stood as still as a statue and stared out the window with wide, fearful eyes.

Henry padded over to join Emma in the socks provided by the hospital that had the grip pattern on the soles. When he came to check on the nurse himself, the woman slowly raised her hand and pointed at the window.

Emma and Henry followed the direction of her pointed finger and saw the purple smoke approach them.

“What is that,” Emma breathlessly asked.

* * *

Regina paused in the doorway of her own bedroom as she stared at her bed and replayed moments with Emma in her head.

She vividly remembered the way Emma arched her back and bucked her hips. She saw it clearly in her mind all the moments Emma gave her everything with just one expression caused by Regina's pleasing hands.

She pictured it. The way Emma scrunched up her face for a split second before she came undone in front of Regina. The way Emma relaxed whenever Regina coaxed her down from her sexual high and gently brought her back to reality.

Regina then envisioned Emma under her on the mattress, not from memory but from desire for more. A fantasy.

She imagined Emma's blonde hair fanned out around the younger woman's face on the pillow as Emma smiled up at her. She imagined leaning in with a smile of her own plastered on her face and kissing Emma's lips, chaste but filled with love.

She imagined doing everything she should have done. Like telling Emma the truth or pushing Emma away. Running Emma out of town or not getting involved with Emma.

But all those options left her mind as quickly as they came.

It only took the sight of Emma's lopsided smile burned into her brain and stuck on pause like a freeze frame for Regina to make a startling realization.

That realization led her to Henry's room.

She slowly made her way to his bed and sat down. She grabbed his pillow and hugged it tightly against her before she finally let herself cry in the way she reserved for when she was alone.

She cried and cried as she played the same thought over in her head like a broken record.

_I lost my family._

It wasn't until she noticed the light change in the room. Even with her eyes closed, Regina had noticed the brightness from outside that came through the window start to dim and darken.

She opened her eyes and stared out at the approaching clouds. Tear tracks glistened on her cheeks as she removed herself from Henry's bed and came to stand in front of the window.

When she saw the color of the clouds as they washed over the town, she grinned.

It took another minute before the clouds engulfed her house, but it felt good when it finally passed over her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath like Rumple had earlier. She felt what the purple smoke had to offer and basked in it as she opened her eyes.

Her usually brown eyes glowed with purple sparks for a few long seconds before they faded back to their normal color.

Magic was back.

 


	27. Chapter 27

The plume of purple smoke finally cleared and Snow and Charming slowly started to pull away from each other. Things seemed safe. The town looked the same and they both felt the way they normally did, minus the fact that not only did they think like Snow and Charming but like Mary Margaret and David as well.

Snow and Charming smiled at each other as relief flooded their features, happy to see and know each other once again.

Close by, Granny and Ruby – or rather Red – hugged and cooed in their small reunion. It would have been odd considering the fact that they had been together throughout the entire duration of the curse had their Storybrooke personalities not had a lot of angst and frustration. The two of them hadn't been so angry with each other ever when they'd lived in the Enchanted Forest. Neither of them had said so many hurtful things or done anything solely just to hurt the other as they had in Storybrooke. In that moment, their hug served as comfort and an apology.

When Ruby pulled away from the soothing embrace, she turned and noticed the familiar couple nearby. She sighed and felt a burst of hope within herself.

“Snow?”

Snow looked up at Ruby and smiled, both women elated to see each other. The two of them instantly closed the space between them and hugged while Charming went to Granny and followed his wife's example.

After a moment, others joined the four of them. It wasn't until one of them spoke up.

“Your Highness?”

Snow, Charming, Ruby, and Granny all looked to see the seven dwarfs in front of them. Once the dwarfs had their attention, they all humbly bowed before their royal leaders Snow White and Prince Charming.

More smiles from Snow and Charming when they saw their loyal friends.

“The curse. It's broken,” Grumpy asked when he and the other dwarfs straightened up.

“It would appear so,” Charming replied.

“So what do we...do now,” Red asked.

“Now...Now I find my daughter,” Snow answered.

“So it's true,” Emma piped up from behind them.

Snow and Charming turned to face the blonde and Snow took almost a whole minute to stare at Emma and do absolutely nothing else. She took in her daughter's appearance from her long and wavy blonde hair down to her nearly knee high boots laced up over her dark blue skinny jeans.

Mary Margaret had last seen her in a plaid skirt and black tights, but somewhere in all the trouble of breaking the curse it wasn't what Snow White first saw Emma wear.

Slowly, Snow stepped toward Emma, reached out, and cupped either side of Emma's face. She appeared on the verge of tears as she mapped out her daughter's confused and sadly happy face before she pulled the blonde into her for a motherly hug.

“You found us,” Snow slowly said as she let a few tears fall.

Charming moved just as slowly as Snow had to approach Emma and wrapped his arms around his wife and his daughter. He cupped the back of Emma's head and kissed her crown as he held his family close.

They didn't separate until a small voice reminded them Emma wasn't alone.

“Grandpa?”

Snow immediately started to laugh while she and Charming let Emma go.

Charming looked over and down at Henry with a wide smile.

“Yeah, kid. I suppose so.”

Charming gently tugged Henry into a hug and laughed a little himself.

“She did it,” Henry said after a few seconds and broke out of Charming's lazy but loving embrace. “She saved you.”

“She saved all of us,” Snow proudly breathed out barely above a whisper.

“I... Well...” Emma struggled to find words in response to hearing she was apparently a hero.

“Uh, then we are we still here,” Grumpy interrupted them to ask, a little agitated.

“That, my friend, is an excellent question,” Charming replied.

One of the dwarfs sneezed before he asked, “And what was that smoke?”

“Who did this,” another dwarf asked.

“And _what_ was that smoke,” Happy repeated Sneezy's question.

“Magic,” a female voice spoke up in answer. “I can feel it.”

An auburn haired woman with a dark blue coat draped over her shoulders gracefully stood before them as she approached the group.

If Emma remembered correctly, the woman was a nun. Head nun, in fact. Mother Superior? She didn't know for sure because she'd barely been anywhere other than the Sheriff's station, her apartment, Regina's house, or Henry's school. And she had no interest in visiting a convent, though since her former lover turned out to be the Evil Queen and Henry's father let her rot in jail, pregnant – though he didn't know that – for a crime  _he_ committed she couldn't deny that celibacy looked pretty damn good right about then.

“Magic? In Storybrooke,” Henry asked. “You're the Blue Fairy. Do something magical.”

And on top of being a nun the woman was a fairy.  _The_ fairy, in fact. 

Of course she was.

“It's not quite that simple, Henry,” the Blue Fairy sadly, almost apologetically, looked at him. “No wand, no fairy dust. Matters are complicated now.”

“Let's go to the person responsible for bringing it,” Grumpy said. “The Queen.”

“Yeah,” the six other dwarfs agreed.

Though Emma had been listening, most of her thoughts consisted of Regina. She realized she'd woken up thinking it was just another day, but then she'd kissed her dead son's forehead and everyone else finally woke up. She then belonged to the fairy tales she'd spent most of her life wanting to believe, but time and time again was disappointed by her loneliness and run ins with all kinds of trouble. Even though Regina was suddenly responsible for Emma's new life involving those stories that were meant to supply hope in Henry's book, she knew that was all Regina had caused. Regina had only created the biggest and most hard to accept headache Emma had ever had in her life, but she didn't bring about the mist of purple wonder.

“No. Wait. It wasn't Regina,” Emma told them, her brow furrowed and her lips thinned by her tight jawed expression.

Snow curiously eyed Emma. Something started to make sense in her still hazy mind, but it was a memory she just couldn't access yet. Snow White had started to dominate her Mary Margaret half and before she could try to push the fairy tale princess in her aside, Emma continued.

“Gold.”

Mary Margaret stopped fighting and Snow took over once more.

Charming and the others relaxed their quizzical expressions and all seemed to have the same epiphany; that “Oh right. Mr. Gold is Rumpelstiltskin. That makes sense” epiphany.

“He told me the only way to save Henry was to get this potion and when I got it, he tricked me into giving it to him,” Emma added. “That must have been what this...magic. God. That's just...weird to say.”

Though Mary Margaret had given up the fight for center stage, Snow still felt a nagging sensation from an unsettling feeling in her gut. She took a second to acknowledge it before she ignored it for the time being and resumed her leadership role.

“Right. I think our best option is to talk to him,” Snow said.

Charming nodded and the group instinctively followed behind him and Snow as they started to walk through town.

Though on a mission, Snow had Emma next to her. Twenty-eight years had finally passed and she had her little girl by her side once again. Although, she wasn't little anymore.

For Snow's part, she kept her thoughts to herself for a least half a mile of walking before she said anything not related to the task at hand.

“Is there anything you want to ask us,” Snow asked.

“The only questions I have are for Mr. Gold,” Emma angrily said as she kept her eyes trained on the road ahead, the road that would lead her to the man in question. “'Why did he double cross me' and 'what did he do to this town'.”

“Uh...shouldn't we talk about... _it_ first?”

“What,” Emma asked as she tried not to think of what her once roommate and friend turned mother could possibly mean by “it”.

“Us, your life, everything?”

“Can we do everything maybe later? Like with a glass of wine. Or several... _bottles_.”

“I know it's a lot to take in,” Charming chimed in. “For all of us.”

“And we don't want to push, but we have waited for this moment for so long–” Snow added before Emma stopped her.

“Yeah, so have I,” Emma quickly spun around to face Snow and Charming.

The couple, as well as the rest of the group along with Henry, stopped in their trek at Emma's command. The blonde was intent on not moving as she explained something very important to her parents in a brisk and frustrated tone.

“I've thought about this moment my entire life. I've imagined who you might be. With _all_ the scenarios I concocted, my parents being...”

Emma trailed off, unable to call them Snow White and Prince Charming, before she started a new train of thought.

“I just need a little time. That's-that's all,” Emma said, calmer than before and more somber.

Suddenly, the angry cries of other townspeople sounded in crescendo as Emma finished her speech.

“Snow,” Charming said with his eyes slightly wide and focused on the line of townspeople rushing down the cross street at the end of the block not far from where he and the others stood.

The entire group, Emma included, looked over at the rioting citizens. Some had brooms, others had garden hoes and shovels.

_What, no pitchforks in this town,_ Emma asked herself as the weaponry the people carried with them told her exactly what the other townspeople intended to do. She just didn't know what they were after.

She didn't have to wait long to find out.

“There you are,” Archie breathlessly said as he ran over to Emma. “Come with me. I need your help.”

Archie looked at Snow and Charming then and decided to announce to everyone, not just Emma, about the dangerous situation they all faced.

“Dr. Whale's whipped everyone into a frenzy. They're going to Regina's house. They're gonna kill her!”

Emma looked back at Henry and her parents, concern etched deep into her face.

“Great. Let's watch,” Grumpy grumbled, completely serious.

“No. No. We _cannot_ stoop to her level,” Archie said. “Even after what she's done, killing her is wrong.”

“He's right,” Henry made himself heard.

Emma's attention immediately fell on him and only him.

“ _Please_ ,” Henry begged. “She's still my mom.”

Henry looked from his grandparents to his birth mother. His eyes were instantly pleading as he tried to tell Emma something she need to hear, but didn't need advertized to everyone else.

Emma's features softened and she looked down at him sympathetically. She understood just what he wanted to say to her from one look, a skill she figured he probably picked up from Regina. She understood that he wanted to say, “I know you care.”

As soon as she got the message, she looked from Henry to Snow.

“We have to stop them,” Emma quietly said with pleading eyes to match her son's.

Snow was hit with another attempt from her Storybrooke memories to help explain why Emma would be on Regina's side as she watched the silent exchange between Henry and the blonde.

Charming had spent that time trying to figure out a way to align Emma's interest of defending the Evil Queen with the others' usual interests of self-preservation. Because of that, he spoke up before Snow could put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

“If the Blue Fairy is right and magic is here,” Charming started. “They'd be marching into a slaughter.”

Charming and the other fairytale characters looked at the rioters and sympathy and concern filled them within a few seconds.

It seemed that as long as they were protecting their own, it was okay to save Regina from whatever their people had planned for her.

Emma didn't argue. It didn't matter why everyone else was going to help her, she just wanted to be there to keep Regina from getting hurt. Magic or no magic, she'd only known Regina as Madam Mayor. She honestly had no idea how well the brunette she'd spent the better part of her time in Storybrooke getting naked with could handle herself.

Either way, the stopped group of do-gooders started to head down the street at a rushed pace toward 108 Mifflin.

* * *

Dr. Whale, adulterer by a technicality and corpse lover by his previous profession prior to the curse, incessantly pounded his fist against Regina's thick white door above the gold plated numbers of her address.

“Open up,” Whale barked. “Open up or we're coming in.”

After a few seconds, the door swung open and Regina walked into the doorway with her lips curled upward in a smug expression.

“Can I help you?”

“That smirk...isn't gonna last forever, Regina,” Whale said with a certain smugness of his own. “You took everything from us and now?”

“What...now you're going to kill me?”

Regina laughed at the thought.

“Eventually,” Whale started again. “But first you need to suffer.”

“Listening to _you_ has been enough _suffering_ for all of us,” Regina said as she shoved him in the chest a couple times until she pushed him off of her porch. “That's right. You wanted to see your _Queen_? Well, my dears, here. She. _Is_.”

Regina threw her hands out at the people gathered on her front lawn and they cowered in fear as they also braced themselves for a magical attack that surprisingly never came.

Whale laughed at her failed attempt.

“She's powerless,” one of the townspeople said.

“What,” Regina asked no one in particular as she looked at her hands with shock and confusion.

“Get her,” another person shouted.

The crowd barreled toward her like a tidal wave of enraged people and backed Regina up against one of the pillars on her porch.

Whale took his place in front of Regina again with a sinister smile on his face.

“Now,” he said as he threw Regina against the pillar and visibly reveled in the sound of her grunt upon impact. “Where were we?”

Whale raised his hands and moved in toward Regina's neck, prepared to strangle the life out of her.

“Let her go,” Emma yelled as she pushed through the crowd on her way up the pathway that lead straight to Regina. “Let her go! Let. Her. Go.”

Emma yanked Whale away from Regina and stood between the two of them.

“Why should I listen to you,” Whale asked her.

“Because I'm still the Sheriff,” Emma huffed at him.

“And because she saved you,” Charming spoke up as he stood beside his daughter in front of the crowd. “ _All_ of you!”

“And because no matter _what_ Regina did, it does not justify _this_ ,” Snow added.

“We are not murderers here,” Emma explained.

“Yeah, well, we're not from this world,” Whale argued.

“Yeah, well, you're in it now,” Emma shot back.

Charming stepped up to Whale and gave him a shove in the chest as he said, “Okay, Whale, we're done.”

“Back off,” Whale growled as he pushed Charming's hand away.

While Charming and Whale fought each other, Emma tuned them out and looked up at Regina.

The brunette had stepped away from Whale and Charming as soon as Charming tried to get Whale to stand down and the movement caught Emma's attention.

Within seconds, they locked eyes as if both were drawn to each other like a magnetic connection or moths to a flame. Regina no longer seemed fearful or angry or in power like she had when she dealt with Whale and the rest of the town that had made themseleves clear they wanted her dead. She softened when she saw into those green eyes she already missed being able to stare at whenever she wanted.

Emma looked heartbroken, still angry but a lot less frustrated with the situation then and more sad about the turn of events that lead them to that moment in Regina's yard with pissed off citizens desperate to see Regina pay for every last wrong decision she'd made.

Regina looked genuinely apologetic for it, for causing Emma to stand where she stood and say whatever would divert everyone's attention to anything other than Regina.

She held Emma's gaze for only a few more seconds before she averted her eyes and gulped, seemingly ashamed.

“We have a lot to figure out,” Charming said to Whale. “And this isn't the way to do it.”

Snow hustled onto Regina's porch and raised her hands in a halting motion.

“And Regina's _death_ won't provide any answers,” Snow insisted.

Regina lifted her head and abandoned all of her self-deprecating emotions when she heard Snow's words. She looked at Emma again in a completely different context and raised her eyebrow once she had the blonde's focus to silently say, “I'm guessing you haven't told her about us?”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“She needs to be locked up,” Snow exclaimed and broke up the moment between Emma and Regina without even realizing it.

Due to the grating sound of Snow White's voice, something she absolutely loathed as much as the woman herself if not more, Regina turned her attention to her pixie-haired enemy. When she heard Snow's suggestion, she visibly laughed but managed to contain the sound under her breath.

“For her safety,” Snow said and caused Regina's smugness to vanish in an instant. “And more importantly for _ours_.”

Regina looked away from the crowd, off to the side of her home and appeared distant, reduced to her most helpless state as she accepted the fact that once again Snow White would get her way. Like her earlier laughter, Regina would continue to be contained like she had been most of her life.

And when the cell door shut behind her with a shriek followed by a loud and depressing clang, Regina closed her eyes for a moment as she tried not to feel owned or trapped. She buried every last horrible and suffocating feeling from her past and opened her eyes as she turned to face the metal bars that blocked her out from the rest of the normal world.

“So I'm a prisoner now,” Regina asked Charming, the one responsible for locking up the jail cell, with her hands on her hips.

There was no use in asking that question in order to receive an answer because she already knew the truth and Charming seemed to know that. Instead of responding to what Regina had said, he asked a question of his own after he took a moment to glare at the caged woman.

“If the curse is broken then why didn't we go back?”

“Because there's nothing to go back to,” Regina kept her voice even as she fearlessly spoke.

Snow frowned and directed her eyes downward on the floor beneath her feet. Only Regina noticed the sadness the piece of information she just offered had caused the beloved princess.

“That land is gone,” Regina finished.

Snow took a few seconds to collect herself before she found her voice again.

“We should get to Gold,” Snow suggested as she tried to mask her disappointment about not having a home to return to with her husband, daughter, and grandson.

The Charming family didn't question her and showed their agreement when they all started to leave the Sheriff's station.

Emma put her hands on Henry's shoulders and guided him toward the front door, but she didn't make it too far before she looked over her shoulder at Regina.

Regina immediately lost all of fury and displeasure at being locked up when she noticed Emma look back at her. Again, she softened. Her eyes held every emotion she had yet to express directly to the blonde and thankfully, Emma seemed to understand that because the blonde let go of Henry and came to her.

Emma gravitated toward the cell and placed a hand over Regina's on top of the metal ledge that intersected the equally metal bars. She stared right at Regina through the bars as though there wasn't a cell door between them, but the younger woman couldn't ignore the fact that there were indeed bars there.

There was definitely a wall between them then, both one of a physical and metaphorical nature.

And yet, Emma stared at her. She didn't move away from the bars, but closer to them. She stepped close enough for her clothes to almost graze the cell door and leaned forward. She pressed her forehead into the space between two bars right in front of Regina and looked down at the barred off space between them.

Henry turned around in time to see Emma move in toward the bars, her hand already over top of Regina's, and watched his mothers interact.

What happened next surprised him, though he had warned Emma it would happen if she wasn't careful around Regina. Still, saying it and seeing it were two different things, especially when he never expected it to be Regina that initiated such a tender and sincere action.

With Emma's head pressed against the bars, Regina sadly smiled at the blonde and reached through the bars with her free hand. She affectionately ran that hand through Emma's hair and tucked a few strands behind the other woman's ear.

Regina's touch sent shivers down Emma's spine as a tingling sensation traveled across her entire body and caused goosebumps to pop up on her arms and chest while the hair on the back of her neck stood at attention. As Regina tucked her hair behind her ear, she closed her eyes and tried to get lost in the soothing feeling. But the moment and the calmness she experienced in it didn't last.

“Emma?”

Mary Margaret, Snow White, her mother. The woman did  _not_ seem to want to give her a chance to relax and pretend her whole life hadn't been flipped upside down yet again in the most irreversible way that didn't compare at all to Henry showing up at her door in Boston. Henry had been a happy surprise in every sense of his presence in her life. When he was born, when he found her ten years later, when he brought her to Storybrooke where she realized she'd found what she'd been looking for all her life but had yet to admit it to those that needed to hear it most. 

She had found out that not only were fairy tales were real but she'd been born into the most popular story of them all. that was not ideal and it certainly was not okay.

To have a moment as slow, quiet, and intense as the one she needed to share with Regina disrupted by Snow White set Emma on edge as soon as her single syllable name left the woman's lips.

Emma quickly pulled her head away from the bars and turned to Snow, but she refused to let go of Regina's hand until she had to dodge the puzzled look Snow displayed as her supposed mother looked between her and Regina.

Then and only then did she walk away from the cell, and more specifically Regina, and resume her exit from the Sheriff's station with Henry and the two people she'd need time to accept as her parents.

What Emma failed to realize, however, was that Snow's expression had flashed from puzzled to knowing. In an instant, memories of her conversations with Emma during the curse burned through whatever mental shield had kept them buried deep in her mind. She knew why Emma had stayed behind to spend a few seconds more with Regina, why Emma had agreed with Henry – aside from his pleas that the brunette was mother – to save Regina from the rightfully angered citizens. It all made sense in a way that nearly swallowed Snow White whole and had caused her to sway where she stood in the main room of the Sheriff's station before she managed to still herself and avoid falling to her knees.

As Emma walked toward her with Henry, she blinked away all the feelings she had on the subject of her daughter having been with Regina in such a devastating way and remained in the moment. They had somewhere to be and she would spent as much time as she could focused on that particular thing, especially since it was better if Henry wasn't around when she decided to bring up Emma and Regina's relationship.

Regina watched Emma and Henry leave with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt cold and empty the second Emma removed her hand from her own. She felt lost and alone the second Henry and Emma disappeared from sight around the corner. She felt a choking kind of tightness in her chest when she heard the echo of the station door shut with a thunderous boom after they went away.

Left to her own devices in a room shrouded in shadow and a sickeningly familiar darkness both provided by the room's lighting and its eerie feel, Regina resorted to the one thing she hoped would free her in her moment of panic. She lifted her hand to be level with the lock on the cell door and held it out as she willed the lock to turn without a key. Her hand started to shake the more her hope started to dwindle with the lack of any power produced from her palm, but she wasn't as alone as she thought.

A familiar and unwanted presence was there to enjoy her failure while she fell further into the darkness that had seemingly been obliterated whenever she was with Emma Swan.

“Magic is different here... _dearie_.”

Rumpelstiltskin slowly sauntered out of a nearby corner, hidden by the most shadowed area in the Sheriff's station, and made his way over to Regina with an air of power and anticipated destruction.

“I noticed,” Regina said as she dropped her hand to her side and tensed as soon as she saw him approach her. “I assume this is all your doing?”

Regina used her Evil Queen voice with him, the one she'd frequently addressed the imp with when he'd been locked away in a cell of his own in the Enchanted Forest.

“Most things are,” Rumple replied, cocky as ever as he limped toward a defenseless Regina.

Regina hated the sound of Rumple's cane as it tapped and tapped and tapped with each deliberate step he took. It nearly drove her crazy as it reminded her she held none of the power in that moment. To keep herself from faltering and to ensure she maintained composure in front of her twisted mentor, Regina didn't wait any longer to find out the reason behind his visit.

“Get to it, Rumple. What do you want?”

Then, a chilling thought occurred to her.

“...You here to finish the job.”

It was supposed to be a question, but Regina knew Rumpelstiltskin all too well. She knew it was a possibility and feared it to be the truth.

“No, no, no,” Rumple quickly said. “You're safe from me.”

“I feel so relieved,” Regina sarcastically said, her voice mostly monotone as she tried to sound bored if not as calm as lion stalking its prey just before it pounced.

“I made a promise to someone that I won't kill you,” Rumple said.

“Who could elicit that from you,” Regina asked, only mildly shocked to hear such a thing from him.

“Belle.”

“She's alive,” Regina said as she poorly feigned surprise.

“You are...a dreadful liar,” Rumple paused mid-sentence as though he wanted to call Regina something else entirely before he settled for the insult that spoke true to the issue at hand.

“I could've killed her, but I didn't,” Regina didn't hesitate to fess up.

It would have been too tiring to keep up the charade that she had nothing to do with Belle's imprisonment in Storybrooke's asylum. It was obvious to Rumple that she had been responsible, but then again she was the only one with motive to do such a thing to the poor girl. And without Emma or Henry, Regina didn't care to play as many games with Rumple as she once might have.

“You did much worse than that,” Rumple growled. “You kept her alive so you could kill her when it suited you. A fate worse than death, which, incidentally, is exactly what I have in store for you.”

Regina furrowed her brow and looked a little concerned, but tried her best to let her noticeable confusion mask that particular emotion.

Rumple didn't give any further explanation and smirked at Regina's poorly executed masquerade, bravery being an emotion he knew Regina had never once genuinely felt. He saw right through her and he let her know it by the way he chuckled at her constant inability to fool him. He casually strolled out of the Sheriff's station with a resounding cackle that echoed as loudly as the tapping of his cane and the shutting of the station door in both the room Regina was confined to as well as the woman's own mind.

* * *

“Keep him safe, Ruby,” Emma said as she leaned over the passenger window of the waitress' vintage red car.

“Don't push it, Snow,” Charming warned as he and his wife watched Emma entrust Henry's care to their longtime and loyal friend.

“I won't,” Snow said in a hitch pitch that most people used when they were lying.

“You guys ready,” Emma asked as she headed toward the couple.

“We need to talk,” Snow anxiously blurted.

Charming puffed out a frustrated sigh as he shifted in place like he shouldn't have expected anything less from the woman beside him.

“I just... I don't want to talk,” Emma said and hoped it would be enough to get them to leave her alone.

It seemed to have worked before so there was no reason for her to believe it wouldn't work again.

“But I do. 'Kay? Gold can wait. I can't,” Snow said like she'd been Emma's mother for more than the hour she actually had been. “I mean, you're my _daughter_ and I want to talk to you.”

Snow smiled, but Emma looked nervous and almost like a timid child in the middle of being scolded.

Emma's shoulders were rigidly raised while she kept her hands at her side though she usually preferred to stuff them in her pockets. She kept her eyes down and only glanced up at Snow and Charming every so often. She spent less than two seconds to make eye contact with them, but she really didn't want to talk to them. She had been friends with Mary Margaret before she found out that Mary Margaret wasn't actually Mary Margaret, but instead was her fairytale mother in every sense of the term.

Snow either picked up on Emma's awkwardness or simply inherited her own from her time spent as a shy schoolteacher. No matter what the case, Snow started to rush her next few sentences as if that would eliminate the awkwardness the subject matter alone caused regardless of how they felt before she decided to bring it up.

“I know that we _have_ talked,” Snow started. “But...we didn't _know_ we were talking. And we talked about things we probably shouldn't have talked about.”

Emma looked down and braced herself for what she was sure to come out of Snow's mouth, her face scrunched up to display her need to escape the rest of the inevitable conversation.

“One night stands,” Snow quickly said then hesitated before she continued. “And the like.”

Emma looked up at Snow and held her gaze longer than a few seconds, though she instantly regretted it when she noticed the knowing look Snow gave her.

“One night stands?!”

Charming apparently only took away that lovely little detail.

“Uh, Whale,” Snow tried to give her husband some kind of information on the subject so she didn't have to talk to him about it for a longer period of time later, especially since in that moment she wanted to focus on Emma.

“Whale?!”

Charming had raised his voice and both Emma and Snow knew if they weren't the only three people on that street at the time, his outburst would have attracted plenty of attention.

“We were cursed. That is neither here nor there,” Snow dismissively said, hurried as she addressed Charming without taking her eyes off of Emma, who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else. “The point is...we did not know that we were mother and daughter and now we do and...so, _please_. Let's talk.”

Emma closed herself off then. The woman she'd only ever really known as Mary Margaret kept asking her for her precious time and her thoughts like she simply deserved it. Emma wanted to know what the hell Mary Margaret, or even Snow White for Christ's sake, had done to feel so entitled to a long conversation that would only add to Emma's misery about the recent events that greatly shaped her life, past and present.

“Okay. What do you want to talk about,” Emma asked with her walls up, defenses in full effect.

That was until–

“We're together, _finally_...and I can't help but...think you're not happy about it,” Snow confessed.

Emma relaxed a little and felt slightly guilty, though she didn't understand why. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she didn't see Snow White or her mother during the woman's confession. She saw her roommate and friend.

“Oh, I am,” Emma started. “But...see, here's the thing: No matter what the circumstances, for twenty-eight years I only _knew_ one thing. That my parents sent me away.”

“We did that...to give you your _best_ chance,” Snow smiled as though that explanation would fix everything.

“You did it for everyone because that's who you are. Leaders, heroes, princes, and princesses. And that's great and amazing and...wonderful, but,” Emma said as she tried her hardest to make herself clear, to make herself perfectly understood so they didn't have to talk in circles about the topic for the rest of the day or the rest of the weekend or however long Snow would keep revisiting it. “It doesn't change the fact that for _my_ entire life...I've been alone.”

“But if we hadn't sent you away,” Snow started as she struggled to understand and clearly wanted nothing more than to be on the same page as Emma by the way she tried to explain her own choices. “You would've been _cursed_ too.”

“But we would've been together. ...Which curse is worse?”

Emma meant what she'd said, but then she thought of Regina and how her life would have been significantly different had the curse not been enacted. That left her with conflicting feelings and that made her change the subject like she'd wanted to before their discussion had even began.

“Come on. Let's just...let's go find Gold,” Emma said as she gently pushed her way between both Snow and Charming and headed down the street toward Gold's shop.

* * *

Emma rolled into pawn shop like a wild and dangerous storm, her parents close behind her though not as aggressive or determined. Charming's boisterous gallantry came in at a close second to Emma's rage, however.

Gold occupied himself at the counter in the main part of the shop and stood in silence with his many procured antiques while he poured himself what appeared to be tea.

“What can I do for you,” he asked as Emma rushed toward him like a building wave at high tide.

“What you can do is tell us what you did,” Emma said, her anger back with full force as she glared at the man responsible for the failure of her first attempt to save Henry.

“I'm sorry you're going to have to be more specific,” Gold casually said.

“You know damn well what we're talking about,” Charming boldly stated.

“You double crossed Emma, you took your, uh, _potion_ from her,” Snow quickly appeased Gold to move things along.

“And did who knows what to this town,” Charming added, a little angry himself at that point.

“And worst of all you _risked_ Henry's life,” Emma said as she rested her hands on the edge of the counter and leaned most of her weight on them.

“Well, that is quite the litany of grievances now, isn't it.”

“Maybe I don't need answers. Maybe I just need to punch you in the face.”

Gold laughed.

“Really, dearie?”

Emma refused to back down and glared just as intensely at him as she had when she first walked in.

“Allow me to answer your questions with some of my own. Alright,” Gold asked as he stepped out from around the counter and stood in front of Emma. “Did your dear boy Henry survive?”

“Yeah,” Emma grudgingly answered as she turned to face him, but kept one hand on the counter to keep herself grounded.

“Is the curse broken?”

Emma looked away, but continued to look furious and undeterred.

“And, uh, let's see, Miss Swan. How long have you been searching for your parents? Looks like you're reunited. Seems like rather a punch in the face...I deserve a thank you.”

“Twist my words all you want,” Emma sternly started, her eyes set intently on Gold. “What was the purple haze that you brought?”

“You know...magic,” Gold answered with a flourish of his hand, his index finger pointed upward in a way that made him look every bit like Rumpelstiltskin without the slimy, gold speckled skin and partially curled hair.

“Why,” Snow asked, aghast at confirmation from the source that magic really was back in Storybrooke.

“Not telling,” Gold replied.

Emma let out a frustrated sigh. She knew when a suspect was done talking and Mr. Gold had nothing more he wanted to share with them. She knew from experience that Gold would never give more information than he chose to dole out and if he wanted to stop there, the conversation was over.

“We're not done,” she said.

“Oh, I know,” Gold said as he leaned closer to her, a majority of his weight placed on his cane. “You still owe me a favor.”

Emma faked a smile, her eyes as hard as her clenched jaw in a display of frustration and fury. She nodded her understanding, but she figured Mr. Gold was smart enough to pick up on that notion also being a silently communicated, “Fuck you.”

The bell chimed when Snow and Charming opened up the shop door and left, but it violently clanged upon Emma's harsh and dramatic exit when the door slammed shut.

* * *

Emma, Snow, and Charming walked together through the town back to their shared apartment. The streetlights illuminated the path from Gold's shop to their apartment every quarter mile and the moon shined down on the trio as they kept to themselves, no conversation to lighten the darkness that surrounded them that night.

Emma had a million thoughts running through her head and she finally had the quiet that she needed to process at least some of the problems that had arisen in the last twenty-four hours. She had stumbled upon several racing thoughts about Regina when she came up on the street that led to the Sheriff's station. She stopped and made a decision.

“I'm going to go get Regina,” Emma said.

“What,” Snow asked as she and Charming stopped in the street and faced Emma. “No.”

“Are you crazy,” Charming asked.

“She's been locked up for a couple hours. I think she's cooled off. Besides, I'm not really worried about her. It's the rest of the town that makes me nervous.”

“Emma, we locked her up so that she can't get to us and we can't get to her,” Snow said.

“Yeah, but everyone in town knows she's at the station and anyone can break in. I don't like that. She's an easy target right now.”

Snow sighed, irritated.

“She has magic. I'm sure if anyone tries anything, she'll defend herself,” Snow argued.

“If that's true then why was Whale able to get close enough to strangle her,” Emma asked.

“We're leaving Regina there for the night. That's final,” Snow said.

“No,” Emma insisted. “I said I'm going to get her and I'm _going_ to get her.”

“I don't want you to do anything about Regina. Stay away from her, Emma. Nothing good will come from spending any more time with her.”

Charming watched the fight like a tennis match as he looked from Emma to Snow then back to Emma and again to Snow. He furrowed his brow and tried to understand what caused the thick layer of tension between the two of them. He knew Emma seemed to be defending Regina and Snow had decided she would not side with her former stepmother that time around. That didn't seem like enough to cause such a rift between his wife and daughter, especially since they had been friends before the curse broke.

“I don't care if you gave birth to me,” Emma started. “You didn't raise me and even if you had, you can't tell me what to do. I'm an adult. I can make my own choices regarding myownlife.”

“You will _not_ see her,” Snow pointed a warning finger at the blonde. “Whatever happened between you two was a lie.”

Snow softened as she tried to plead with Emma.

“She was only using you to get to me.”

Emma scoffed.

“She doesn't even know that you know! How could have been using me if she thinks we're the only two people aware of what's going on?”

“Can I be a part of the people aware of what's going on,” Charming asked.

Snow rolled her eyes.

“Emma, she's the reason we didn't raise you. If it wasn't for her curse–”

“She brought on some curse, she didn't make the decision for you,” Emma growled.

Snow shook her head.

“Okay. Fine,” Snow started. “That's all part of a past you don't remember because you weren't a part of it. I get it. Why would you care about something that happened so long ago and seemingly has nothing to do with you? So let's take the present for example. She _hurt_ you. The last time we talked before the curse broke you could barely sit down. You winced every time you moved. Because of her!”

“What? Emma, are you okay,” Charming asked, instantly concerned as he stepped closer to Emma and tried to inspect her for any visible damage but saw none.

“I'm fine,” Emma shrugged him off before she continued to argue with Snow. “She's got plenty of bite marks and scratches herself, _Mary Margaret_.”

“Maybe Emma's right. We don't have to leave Regina locked up all night. I'm sure she'll be fine back at her house. What's the big deal,” Charming asked.

Snow's attention snapped to her husband.

“The 'big deal' is that Emma's _having sex_ with Regina!”

Charming's jaw dropped and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He stared at Snow, speechless, for several seconds and waited until she nodded in confirmation that she spoke the truth. He then looked at Emma and blinked a few times before he was able to form words again.

“Emma? Are you... Have you been... _with_ Regina?”

Emma felt a little betrayed that Mary Margaret had blabbed about her personal life, and loudly at that, but then...she wasn't dealing with Mary Margaret, was she? Snow, her own _mother_ , had shared something private with someone and had no right, no permission, to discuss it with anyone else but her.

That betrayal showed through Emma's face, her lips parted and green eyes filled with hurt. She'd spent her whole life wanting family or even friends, but apparently they were overrated because she felt like she'd been slapped in the face and stabbed in the heart by both a friend and a family member.

Emma clamped her jaw shut and anger overpowered all of her other emotions. She looked from Snow to Charming and took a deep breath through her nose before she answered him.

“Yes,” Emma hissed and waited a few tense seconds before she stormed off toward the station.

* * *

The front door banged against the wall when someone threw it open with haste.

Regina sat up on the cot in her cell and froze with her legs draped over the side of it. Her heart thudded heavily against her ribcage and her blood pounded loudly in her ears.

Heavy footsteps approached from the station entrance. The intruder clomped around in what sounded like boots and Regina shot onto her feet.

“Hello? Who's there,” Regina asked the dark and momentarily empty room.

The footsteps stopped at the end of the hallway where it lead into the main room of the station and a second later, the lights sparked to life with a flip of the switch.

Regina flinched as soon as the lights came on, though it had little to do with the sudden brightness in the room. When she saw who stood by the light switch, Regina instantly relaxed and let her fear melt away.

“Emma,” she breathed out with relief and pressed a hand to her chest to help slow her increased heart rate.

“Sorry. I'm upset,” Emma tersely explained. “Probably didn't ease your mind to burst in here like one of the people on your lawn today.”

“No, it didn't.”

Regina slowly went to the bars and wrapped her hands around a couple of them.

“What are you doing here,” Regina asked as Emma crossed the room.

Emma reached into the back pocket of her jeans and retrieved a key. She stopped in front of the cell and stuck the key in the lock, twisted it, and yanked open the door.

“Go home, Regina,” Emma tiredly said as she stepped aside to allow Regina to pass.

The brunette didn't move an inch.

“What's wrong,” Regina calmly asked like she cared.

Emma sighed.

“Aside from everything,” she rhetorically asked.

Regina frowned and moved closer to Emma as she walked out of the cell.

“Do your parents know you're letting me go,” Regina asked.

Emma scrunched up her face for a single second, bothered by “your parents” as the words came out of Regina's mouth, before she controlled it into a stony expression once again.

“That's not all they know,” Emma bitterly said with a gravelly voice strained from the day's events.

Regina furrowed her brow, confused.

Emma looked up from the spot on the floor she'd focused on and saw Regina's expression. She decided to elaborate.

“Mary Margaret knew about us before the curse broke.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, and then she was yelling at me when I told her I was gonna let you out of here. I told her off and then David didn't understand what her real issue with letting you go was. So she told him about us. She just shouted it out in the middle of the street like I wouldn't mind if everyone knew about my sex life.”

“I take it she doesn't approve,” Regina joked.

Emma looked up at her, unamused.

“Too soon for humor,” Regina asked and when Emma's expression didn't change she continued. “She's just jealous that she hasn't been laid in almost three decades and you've been sexually satisfied almost _every day_ at leasttwice a day in the last month alone.”

“Ew,” Emma twisted her face in disgust. “You're saying my _mom_ is jealous of how often I get laid and implying that's been stuck in a drought my entire life.”

Regina grinned.

A few seconds passed and then Emma laughed, a genuine and also therapeutic laugh.

“Have I told you I love your laugh,” Regina confessed as she smiled at Emma.

Emma started to calm down from her fit of laughter and watched Regina close more of the distance still between them.

Regina reached up and cupped Emma's cheek. She stoked her thumb over Emma's smooth skin a couple times before she moved her hand down to Emma's neck. She leaned in and replaced her thumb with her lips as she kissed Emma's cheek. She let it linger as she kept her mouth pressed to Emma's fair skin for a long moment. She broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Emma's before their lips gravitated toward each other.

Eyes closed and heart wide open, Emma moved in as a tear slipped down her cheek and splashed onto the leather jacket Regina lazily gripped with the hand not on Emma's neck. She took a deep breath just as their lips were about to meet and turned away at the last second.

Regina's lips grazed the spot where Emma's cheekbone met her jawline and Regina's nose bumped into the shell of the other woman's ear. She opened her eyes as soon as she felt Emma turn away and realized how tense the blonde had become under her touch. She pulled back with a morose sigh and looked at Emma.

Emma kept her head turned and avoided eye contact for as long as she could.

Regina gently trapped Emma's chin between her fingers and carefully turned the other woman's to look at her without forcing the other woman to cooperate any more than Emma was willing.

When Emma looked at her, Regina immediately saw the tear track that stained her cheek while it subtly glittered under the fluorescent lights.

Emma looked at Regina with big puppy dog eyes through tear dampened lashes.

“I'm sorry,” Regina quietly said.

Emma's lips quivered and more tears fell.

Regina scrunched up her face to ward off the tears that threatened to spill from her own eyes at the heartbreaking sight of Emma.

“Emma, I–”

Emma shook her head and pulled away from Regina completely so that they no longer touched at all.

“I'll drive you home in the patrol car,” Emma said as she wiped away her tears. “But that's it. I need time to figure this all out and all I want, from _everyone_ , is just some time and space.”

Regina sadly smiled at Emma for a moment before she nodded.

“Okay,” Emma whispered in reply to the other woman's nonverbal agreement and motioned for Regina to lead the way.

Regina slowly headed for the door and Emma closed the vacated cell before she followed Regina out and turned off the lights.

* * *

The digital alarm clock by Mary Margaret's – Snow's – bed on the first floor of the apartment read 11:22 PM as Emma sat at the bar style counter in the kitchen. She had foregone alcohol since Henry was in the apartment with her and replaced it with a gallon of Rocky Road ice cream. Though she hated to live in the cliché, she needed something familiar, a fantasy even, to block out the insane reality that surrounded her since Henry had collapsed from ingesting a poisoned turnover meant for her.

Romantic comedies. Those were her fairy tales. Unfortunately, she was stuck in the part of the movie when the main character had to deal with a bad breakup on their own and relied on comfort food to ease the pain.

Well, it didn't ease the pain. Not even a little bit. Some might say it was the flavor of ice cream, but Emma knew better. Rocky Road wasn't her first choice that evening. She'd started with butter pecan and moved on to a cherry vanilla blend before she tried the chocolatey disaster she made and currently feasted on when Henry joined her in the kitchen.

“Are you okay,” Henry timidly asked, his voice laced with concern as he stood in the open space behind her between the kitchen and the stairs to the loft.

She definitely stood by her position to avoid the alcohol that night as she looked at her tired son, his hair mussed from sleep. He was dressed in Regina's dark gray sweatpants – the pair Emma had borrowed and had yet to returned after she'd been marked with the woman's initial on her thigh – and one of Emma's loose fitting T-shirts that she occasionally wore to bed, but never wore in public. The shirt didn't look too bad on him, though he almost wore it like a dress due to his length on him. But Regina's sweatpants were much too long and baggy that he constantly stepped on the ends of the pant legs and every once in a while had to tug at the waistband to conceal his underwear from sight.

Emma jammed her spoon into the mostly melted Rocky Road she had made the effort to drown in chocolate syrup as a way to express the way she felt she was drowning. It was the kind of metaphors she applied to her life that she knew no one else would understand. It was almost like an inside joke, but one she only got to share with herself. As sad as that sounded, she figured it was okay when it came to her “comfort food” because it just added to the amount of comfort that food may then offer because of her alterations to it, literary devices or not.

“It's late, Henry,” Emma said in a tired tone that was lower than she'd ever used with him.

Then again, he'd never talked to her after an extremely long day while she ate her weight in ice cream and refused to get any rest.

“Go to bed,” Emma commanded and hadn't even spared him a look over her shoulder.

“You're not coming upstairs with me?”

“Not right now.”

Henry looked down at the floor for a moment before he padded over to the stool next to Emma and lifted himself onto it.

“Henry,” Emma warned. “Go. To. Bed.”

Mary Margaret's mattress audibly protested when either she or David rolled over.

“It's my mom, isn't it.”

“What is,” Emma asked with a short patience and raspy voice.

“What's keeping you up,” he answered.

Emma groaned and pushed the Rocky Road away from her, the spoon inside the container, and hit her forehead against her arm on the counter top.

“I told you she was evil,” Henry casually said.

Emma popped her head up and regarded him with hard eyes that could compete with Regina's when she scolded him.

“She is not evil,” Emma firmly said.

“But...you believe me now. You know the truth. She's the Evil Queen.”

“She _was_ the Evil Queen.”

Emma groaned again as she squeezed her eyes closed out of frustration.

“That didn't sound any better,” she said, her eyes still closed.

“See? What did I tell you?”

“I meant that it's weird to talk about fairy tales like they're real life. But they actually are. And that's...just...ugh. No, whatever. It is what it is, right? I don't care what the hell story she's from and what the hell she did back then. You said it yourself earlier today. She's still your mom. No matter what _anyone else_ thinks about her, you'll still see her as your mom and nothing else. Got it?”

“You're _still_ defending her? Even though you know she's done all those bad things you read in my book?”

Emma sighed, but didn't say anything else.

Silence filled the room for almost a minute before it was broken by one question that was stated like an answer.

“You love her, don't you.”

Emma turned to Henry with an open mouth that emitted no sound. Thankfully, she didn't have to give him an answer because her cell phone rang from the pocket of her red leather jacket. She closed her mouth, slid off her stool, and walked over to the couch where she had carelessly draped her jacket over the back of it.

She pulled out her phone and checked the caller ID. Speaking of the Evil Queen.  _Former._

“Hey,” Emma tiredly and plainly answered.

“Emma! Can you come over here?”

“Regina,” Emma warned. “I told you I needed time and space.”

“I know. I'm sorry. It's just–” Regina cut herself off and Emma heard something in the background, but she wasn't sure what it was. “Please. ...We have a deal. When I call you're supposed to come to me.”

“I think with everything that's happened that deal is null and void.”

“ _Please!_ I-I think somebody's trying to break in and I don't have magic so I can't–”

Emma's eyes widened and she was the one to cut Regina off that time.

“Where in the house are you?”

“My bedroom.”

“Stay there. I'm on my way. You can lock the door, right?”

“Yes, of course I can. How many times have you been in here with me?”

“We never really used the lock! I had to ask, ugh– Never mind! Lock the door. I'll be there in five minutes in the cruiser with the lights and siren on.”

“Thank you.”

Emma hung up as soon as she heard confirmation that Regina had heard her. She left her jacket on the couch and went across the apartment to the coat rack.

“Is my mom okay,” Henry worriedly asked.

“I'll take care of it,” Emma said as she grabbed a black pea coat and hurriedly put it on. “Go to bed.”

“Promise?”

Emma flapped the coat collar until it no longer poked at her neck and bunched up between her shoulder blades as she flashed a look that was meant to reassure Henry but came off as a look of sad understanding.

“I took care of her last time I promised I would, right?”

Henry forced a smile, still not completely calmed about the situation.

“Yeah,” he said, a little more hopeful than before.

“Do you still have a walkie talkie at Regina's house?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I keep mine–”

“Under your pillow,” Henry finished for her. “I found it when I couldn't get comfortable in the bed earlier. It was _why_ I wasn't comfortable.”

Emma smiled at him.

“Good. Keep it on channel eight. Our number, right?”

Henry nodded.

“I'll let you know she's okay as soon as I get there and check on everything.”

“Okay,” Henry said.

“Lock the door behind me,” Emma said as she rushed out of the apartment.

Henry did as asked and locked up after Emma. He turned back toward the kitchen and frowned as worried thoughts demanded sole attention of his mind.

 


	28. Chapter 28

The yellow Bug growled, huffed, and sputtered to a rough stop at the curb outside of Regina's home. Emma parked the car and killed the engine before she leaned over and pulled open the glove compartment. A back up gun rested on top of a small stack of papers and flannel blanket she had started to keep in reach for cold nights like that night.

Within seconds, Emma bolted from her car and closed the distance between herself and Regina's front door. When she reached the front porch, she slowed her run to a careful and inspecting walk. She noticed the front door slightly ajar and held her gun at the ready as she nudged the door further open with the tip of her boot.

She raised her gun, prepared to shoot any intruder, and looked around like any cop trained to clear a room. Before she went any further into the house, Emma kicked the door shut then continued to navigate through the foyer with her gun pointed out in front of her.

It was eerily quiet inside and the first floor was completely dark. A chill ran over Emma and she turned toward the source of the cold to realize that one of the front windows had been smashed in.

As she approached the broken window, she finally identified herself.

“Sheriff's Department! If there's anyone in here that _shouldn't_ be, come out slowly with your hands up.”

Emma swept through the rest of the first floor before she circled back toward the stairs. So far she'd found nothing more than a damaged window and open front door, which was disconcerting in itself, but there were no other signs of forced entry or a struggle. As she crept up the staircase with her gun drawn and eyes wide as she tried to see through the darkness, she hoped Regina had listened to her and stayed in her bedroom. She hoped that whoever had tried to attack Regina had just thrown something at the house then left because she honestly wasn't sure what she would do if anything ever happened to Regina. That thought alone seemed a lot scarier than the potential threat of someone having broken in to Regina's place.

Once at the top of the stairs, everything instantly became darker and all the bedroom doors were shut. The hallway never seemed more ominous than it did that moment, almost like a scene out of a horror film just before the buxom blonde was stabbed repeatedly with her shirt wide open to display her bountiful and bouncing breasts. Since Emma was a blonde, her chances seemed to be unhealthily out of her favor. Though she did have a gun and her breasts were average so at least she had that going for her. Also, she wasn't in a horror film even though her life suddenly felt like a nightmare turned into reality.

She threw open Henry's door first because it was the room closest to the stairs and flipped the lights on in an instant. She did a fast and quick look through to ensure no one had tried to hide in there then moved on to the next room.

The bathroom and linen closet were clear and though Emma wanted to check the guest room just to secure every other room in the house before looking in on the brunette, she just couldn't wait to see the woman. She had to know as soon as possible if Regina had been hurt or threatened or touched in any way so she lowered her gun and reached out for the door knob.

“Regina? It's Emma. I'm coming in,” Emma announced as she turned the knob and cautiously opened the door, careful not to startle the probably already tense and worried woman.

When Emma opened the door and stepped inside the room, she immediately noticed Regina beside her bed. The brunette's body was rigid from head to toe as she wrung her hands in front of her stomach, her eyes slightly wide in panic in the fully lit room.

“Hey,” Emma breathed out with relief. “Are you okay?”

Regina nodded.

“Did you see anyone in the house? Did they come in here?”

“No,” Regina said as she shook her head.

“Okay. I'm gonna go check the guest room and make sure they're gone. I'll be right back.”

Emma turned and started to leave the room when Regina shakily spoke up.

“Th-thank you...Emma.”

Emma stopped and looked over her shoulder at the brunette. She curled her lips into a small smile, one that wasn't anything at all like the smiles Regina used to get from her, before she turned away again and left the room.

Regina sighed and relaxed her tense muscles a bit then started to pace the room as she walked around the bed a few times. During her second time around the bed, Emma returned with her gun holstered in the front of her jeans.

“You sure you're okay,” Emma asked as she closed the bedroom door and walked over to Regina, concern in her shiny green eyes.

Regina gulped as she nodded and forced a small smile onto her face that felt as nervous and afraid as it looked.

“What happened,” Emma asked while she stopped in front of Regina and reached out for the woman.

Emma started to rub Regina's arms with her hands to warm her up and bring her out of her worried state.

Regina closed her eyes and sighed as she relaxed a little more then opened her eyes before she answered the blonde.

“I don't know,” she said, her voice slightly raspy. “I just heard pounding and then a crash and it just...I don't know.”

“Okay. It's okay,” Emma reassured her.

“No, it's not,” Regina said a little angrily as she shook her head and looked down at the small space between them, her eyes focused on the floor. “I'm the Evil Queen. I shouldn't have to be afraid in my own home. People should fear _me_.”

“The Evil Queen had magic,” Emma said. “You don't.”

“If you're going to tell me that the Evil Queen and I are different people, I will find a way to hurt you,” Regina almost growled.

“More than you already have?”

Regina's expression softened as she found Emma's eyes and stared at the blonde.

“I'm sorry,” Regina whispered.

“I wasn't going to say you aren't the same person as the Evil Queen. Because that's kind of stupid, isn't it? You were a queen and you did bad enough things to earn the 'evil' title. I just...you're not like that anymore, are you?”

“No. I mean...there are things I've done here in Storybrooke...that I'm not proud of, but I'm not...I don't...”

Regina never finished her sentence.

Emma accepted it.

“It looks like whoever was here earlier just wanted to scare you,” Emma said as she released Regina's arms and dropped her hands to her sides. “But I'm gonna stay in the guest room to make sure they don't come back to do anything worse than that, okay?”

Regina nodded, her eyes a little wide as she considered the blonde in front of her. She seemed slightly stunned and perhaps a bit awestruck in that moment.

Emma furrowed her brow.

“What,” she asked the brunette.

Regina shook her head, similar to the way she had when she and Emma had first met and she'd discovered the younger woman was Henry's birth mother.

“You came,” Regina said as though that should have explained everything.

Emma's eyebrows knit further together.

“Yeah, you called in a panic. What was I supposed to do? Let you fend for yourself?”

“But I...I lied to you and Henry and...I'm the reason you grew up the way you did.”

Emma winced for a second at Regina's painfully truthful reminder.

“Yeah, but...it's not like you don't have your own story to tell. Right? I mean, you're a _real_ person. What kind of person would do all of this,” Emma said as she motioned around the bedroom. “Just because she was jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty. Which...I may be a little biased, but I think you're way more attractive.”

Regina couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face and the quiet laughter that tumbled out from behind her lips.

“I would hope that you find me more attractive than your _mother_ ,” Regina said as her laughter subsided.

Emma shuddered.

Regina's smile faded.

“Look,” Regina started after a few seconds filled with awkward silence. “I...I just want to make sure you understand that I never meant to hurt you.”

Emma's lips parted in shock and a little bit of disbelief.

“Then...why did you give me the turnover,” Emma asked once she got her voice to work again, angry when she thought about it. “Why try to poison me?”

“It was different,” Regina quickly tried to defend herself. “It wouldn't have harmed you.”

“Then what would it have done because the only version of poisonous apples I know about are the ones that keep a person trapped in eternal sleep.”

“I altered it.”

“Altered _what_?”

“The curse. I made it so that even if you were stuck in eternal sleep, it wouldn't be harmful to you. You could...you would've dreamed about a good life. You would have lived in your dreams like it was reality and you would have never known pain or hurt or heartache.”

“You...you did that? For me?”

Regina forced a small smile that looked nervous and somewhat pained before she nodded.

Emma sighed and closed her eyes while she shook her head.

“What you did is still messed up, Regina. You were going to put me to sleep! Regardless of what I would have felt during my time under that curse, I wouldn't be alive! And it wouldn't have been real.”

“I just didn't want the truth about me and this town to destroy you,” Regina explained, tears in her eyes. “And then Henry would have hated me..like he does now.”

The last words Regina spoke were in a softer tone than anything else she'd said.

Emma's shoulders slumped in defeat and looked down at the floor before she took a step toward Regina to eliminate some of the space between them.

“He doesn't hate you. It's just...hard for him.”

Emma looked up at Regina and stared into those wonderful and captivating brown eyes when she said “hard for him.”

Regina caught the sentiment behind Emma's words and her breath almost hitched at the intensity of the moment.

“Emma...” Regina breathed as her eyes went from Emma's to the woman's lips.

The look on Emma's face displayed the blonde's inner struggle. She wanted to give in and just kiss Regina senseless like she had done time after time before fairy tales suddenly existed. But there was another part of her that was torn at the idea of giving herself over to the woman after everything she'd learned.

Regina slowly leaned in, but before her lips could even brush Emma's, the blonde spoke up and stopped her.

“I'll be in the guest room,” Emma said as she took a step away from Regina and hesitated before she turned and shuffled out of the bedroom.

Regina frowned and stared at Emma like a kicked puppy as the blonde left her. She waited a few seconds as she tried to collect herself before she slowly went to her bedroom door and closed it behind Emma. She rested her forehead against it for a moment as she allowed herself to quietly cry once again for what she had lost.

* * *

Emma tossed and turned in the guest bed, her gun tucked away in the nightstand to her left as she managed to tangle herself up in the sheets. Her jeans laid in a wrinkled ball on the floor at the foot of the bed as she slept in only her T-shirt and panties.

Though Emma seemed to be a light sleeper, the fact that the guest bedroom door was wide open and Regina stood in the doorway as she leaned against the frame with her arms crossed over her chest proved just the opposite.

Regina stared at the blonde as she rolled over once then flounced onto her back with a heavy sigh before she whined and turned over onto her right side. She studied the younger woman as Emma bunched the sheets up between her legs and pushed the comforter away from her body while she squeezed her eyes shut and furrowed her brow. All the signs of a nightmare were present, but for some reason Regina didn't think that was why Emma had trouble sleeping.

Emma thrashed around and kicked away the bottom half of the comforter that had snaked around the woman's legs. The action revealed pale legs to the brunette with a view and also exposed Emma's black panties in the process.

Regina let her eyes wander over Emma's figure while she drank in the sight of the other woman's bare legs. As her eyes roamed down Emma's slightly uncovered stomach, she noticed red amongst a patch of something paler than Emma's legs.

Regina pushed off the door frame and padded into the guest room. The closer she got to Emma, the guiltier she felt. She realized that Emma had yet again opened old wounds and had bled from the assumed only partially healed mark on the woman's thigh. She reached out and lightly ran her fingertips over the sticky gauze.

Emma flinched under Regina's touch and gasped as her eyes opened. She flailed around in an attempt to turn onto her left side and retrieve her gun in the bedside table, but Regina quickly tried to assure her she was safe.

“Emma. It's me. Relax,” Regina said as she pulled her hand away from Emma's leg. “Don't move too fast. You're hurt.”

“God! _Regina_! What the hell?!”

Emma let out a frustrated sigh and sat up in the bed. She pulled herself back against the headboard and brought her knees up toward her chest as she rested her elbows on her knees. She ran a hand through her hair then held her forehead in that same hand.

“Did anyone ever tell you it's impolite to stare? Let alone creep up on people and watch them sleep?”

Regina smiled in the moonlit room and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I wasn't standing over you for very long,” Regina confessed.

“Just long enough to scare the life out of me.”

“I didn't mean to wake you.”

“I don't think there's ever a good excuse as to why someone is watching their ex-girlfriend sleep.”

Regina gasped and stared at Emma with wide eyes. She seemed surprised to hear Emma say that.

“What,” Emma asked.

“Girlfriend.”

“We did have a talk about what we were to each other...before everything got all archaic and everyone except Henry and I are from the Middle Ages.”

Regina rolled her eyes.

“You just called me old in the worse way imaginable.”

“No, doing that would mean saying you were so old you're eggs dried up after the first caveman evolved,” Emma replied.

Regina's lips parted in utter offense and she smacked Emma's arm.

Emma laughed.

“But I'm not saying that,” Emma assured her.

“You better not _ever_ say that,” Regina replied.

“I wouldn't. Last time I checked, you are the hottest and most in-shape fairy tale character in all the land.”

Regina actually blushed at that, though the limited lighting in the room fortunately hid it well.

“Of course, I haven't felt up or fucked any other fairy tale character so...the comparison is from a skewed sample.”

“We did more than fuck, dear,” Regina corrected the blonde.

“Don't I know it,” Emma solemnly agreed.

They sat in awkward silence for a few more seconds before Regina broke it.

“Here,” Regina said as she moved a hand over Emma's left knee and lowered the blonde's leg flat onto the bed. “Let me...”

When Regina ran her hand over the gauze wrapped around the other woman's thigh, she kept her eyes locked on Emma's and her voice trailed off along with her thoughts. The instant her fingertips grazed over the bloody part of the gauze, both Emma's and Regina's breaths hitched.

They simultaneously looked down at Regina's hand and saw a faint purple glow illuminate the space between it and the gauze on Emma's thigh.

Emma felt a tingling sensation on her skin under the gauze and shifted on the bed as she almost shied away from Regina's apparent magic. She fidgeted and wiggled around on the mattress and even accidentally spread her legs as she struggled to feel comfortable beneath Regina's touch.

Regina hadn't meant to let her eyes wander, but the way Emma had started to move reminded her of how things used to be. She looked up from her glowing hand and raked her eyes over Emma's left leg up to her black panties. She bit her bottom lip as watched Emma's hips move then started to remove the gauze.

“Please stop moving,” Regina quietly begged as she quickly tried to refocus her attention on the gauze.

“Sorry, but what you're _doing_...it's a little hard to keep still. Have you ever _felt_ whatever it is you're doing,” Emma asked as she continued to squirm.

“ _Emma_ ,” Regina chastised. “Please stop.”

Regina's eyes locked onto Emma's and a heat flooded the blonde's cheeks and chest. She almost blushed at the look Regina gave her in that moment; one that spoke so many truths.

“It's making it hard for me to not stare at you in ways that aren't really appropriate right now,” Regina confessed.

“Sorry,” Emma softly said as she continued to stare into brown eyes and finally stilled herself. “What exactly _are_ you doing?”

Emma's left knee slid toward Regina and settled it on top of Regina's thigh close to the brunette's hip while Regina ignored Emma's question altogether.

Regina looked down at Emma's thigh and peeled off the gauze as the purple glow from her hand faded. She set the gauze aside on the bedside table and ran her fingertips over the surprisingly unmarked flesh. She ran her thumb over the smooth skin before she traced the no longer present “R” on Emma's thigh.

“It's gone,” Emma said as she stared down at her bare thigh in awe.

“It's magic,” Regina said with a small, satisfied grin as she kept her gaze fixed on where her first initial used to mar pale, toned skin.

“But I thought you didn't have magic,” Emma said as she looked up from Regina's lingering fingers and stared straight ahead at the brunette.

“I didn't think I did, but...” Regina's head snapped up as she trailed off and her eyes immediately found Emma's. “I don't understand.”

“What do you mean you don't understand? You're the one who has magic and I'm the one that just found out fairy tales aren't actually 'tales'.”

“Rumpel brought magic back to this town before the mob showed up at my door. I didn't have power when they came here and threatened me, but I have it now? That's what I don't understand,” Regina explained.

“Maybe you were rusty,” Emma shrugged.

Regina shook her head.

“It doesn't matter if I haven't used magic in a while. I still should have been able to do _something_ earlier today if I still had it.”

“So...what are you saying,” Emma asked as she furrowed her brow.

“Magic is...emotion,” Regina started as she lowered her head again and looked down at Emma's thigh. “You have to feel something to make magic work.”

Regina started to sweep her fingers back and forth, up and down Emma's newly healed thigh.

“Anger. That's what got my magic to work,” Regina continued.

“What? Why are you mad at me?! I'm not the one who cursed this town into misery just because she was upset about...whatever!”

“No! I'm not mad at you,” Regina quickly argued. “And don't belittle why I cast the curse.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

Regina sighed out of frustration as she tried to calm herself down.

“I'm not mad at you,” Regina repeated, softer than their first time. “I wasn't mad at all when I healed you.”

“Then I'm not following you. How come your magic worked now and not earlier, especially if you weren't angry now to trigger it?”

“I don't know,” Regina said in a sort of dream like state as she continued to draw patterns on Emma's skin.

Regina caressed Emma's thigh again and again as she refused to look into green eyes. A lump caught in her throat brought on by tears that had yet to fall.

“Thankfully this means the mark won't scar,” Regina awkwardly laughed. “And now...you don't have to be painfully reminded that we were ever together.”

“You think I can forget?”

“I didn't think you'd want to remember.”

Emma pulled her left leg away from Regina's hand and held her knees to her chest.

“This is really difficult,” Emma breathed out as she rested her chin on her knees.

“I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry,” Regina said as she reached out with the hand she'd used to touch Emma's healed thigh.

Regina ran her hand through Emma's hair and scooted closer to the blonde. She looked genuinely apologetic as she leaned in and kissed the woman's forehead. When her lips touched Emma's forehead, the other woman closed her eyes and fought off the onslaught of tears.

Emma took a deep breath, stunned and jagged from the overwhelming emotion that threatened to stain her cheeks and make her eyes red and puffy.

Regina moved lower and kissed Emma's cheek.

Emma sniffled and held back more tears that were surprisingly close to escaping.

“Why did you do this to me,” Emma asked in a whisper thick with tears that decided to trail down her cheeks just at that moment.

Regina's heart wrenched in her chest at Emma's pain. Pain she had caused.

“I'm sorry,” Regina repeated once more as she shook her head then leaned in again.

Regina chastely kissed Emma on the lips and Emma finally let go of her hurtful self-control.

Tears fell and soft sobs echoed off the guest room walls.

“I _told_ you stuff about me,” Emma cried. “I let you in and I made the mistake of... _trusting_ you. Like I trusted him.”

That was when Regina's heart broke. It had been charred and broken before, but Regina felt something so much more toward Emma then she had ever imagined she would, or even could.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma.

“Why did you fuck me? Why did you ever make me want you? Was this your plan? The whole time? Everything was always a power play and it looks like it's settled. No need to tally up the score. You won.”

“No, I didn't,” Regina quietly cried into the crook of Emma's neck. “I hurt you and Henry and now...what do I have?”

“So...screwing me over was worth absolutely nothing. That makes me feel a whole lot better,” Emma sarcastically said with a shaky voice, most of her crying already over.

“I didn't think this would happen,” Regina sadly confessed as she pulled away.

“Would it have made a difference if you had? Or would you still act like the Evil Queen and take what you wanted without any consideration for how I might feel?”

“When I became the Evil Queen, when I assumed that title and had no mercy, I didn't love anything or anyone. There is no way I would've acted the way I did if I'd known things would be more than physical pleasure between us. I _couldn't_ have.”

“And what about Henry?”

“What do you mean what about Henry? I love him and I hate that he hates _me_ for all I've done.”

“He doesn't hate you,” Emma told her with a shake of her head. “I've told you this already.”

Regina furrowed her brows in confusion.

“He wanted me to make sure you were okay. He saw me panic when you called tonight and he even wanted to come with me to make sure nothing bad had happened to you. I think he's just upset that you lied to him and that you were cruel...once upon a time.”

There was a quick moment of silence between them before they shared a laugh. It was a short moment of relief, but it was needed and therapeutic and reminded them both of the better times they'd shared only a few days ago. When their laughter died away, silence enveloped the room and things were awkward again.

“Um, thanks for...healing my leg,” Emma said as he shifted on the bed. “You should get some sleep.”

Regina looked down at the space between them. She swallowed the lump she suddenly felt in her throat and nodded.

“Thank you for coming over,” Regina slowly and quietly said as she reluctantly removed herself from the mattress.

“I may not like our new situation, but I wouldn't leave you if you needed someone. Even if we never...”

Emma sighed and continued.

“Look, you're Henry's mom and I can't let anything happen to you because it would kill him. Even though he doesn't show it, the kid loves you. I can't let anything happen to you.”

“I... Emma, I'm _sorry_.”

Regina tried to hold back the tears she felt prickle her eyes. She had never said those words and meant them with so much truth and conviction since she killed her father to cast the curse. And yet, she meant it every time she said it to Emma.

“For what I did to Henry....to you,” Regina added.

Emma kept her head down.

“I'm sorry I turned out to be just like him,” Regina started to choke up, her words clipped and cracked with a strained voice. “Henry's father.”

Emma's head snapped up and she stared at Regina with wide eyes filled with surprise and wonder.

Regina mirthlessly laughed.

“Yes, I do listen to you,” Regina confessed. “Shocking, isn't it?”

Emma thickly swallowed in an attempt to wet her dry throat with saliva that wasn't enough to stop the burning sensation.

Regina leaned in and kissed Emma's cheek.

Emma closed her eyes when she felt those familiar lips on her cheek. A couple more tears slid down both cheeks and one salted Regina's lips.

“You and Henry are _all_ I have,” Regina whispered in Emma's ear before she pulled away from the blonde and left the room.

Emma sniffled and wiped away her tears before she remembered what she told Henry. She got up and went into his room. She checked under his pillow and found his walkie talkie. She flicked it on and heard the faint crackle of static followed by, “Mom? Mom! Are you there? Please answer me.”

“Hey, kid,” she quickly answered Henry's panicked and desperate pleas.

“Mom! How is she? Are you okay?”

“I'm fine, Henry. She's fine. Whoever it was that was threatening her was gone before I got there. She wasn't hurt and the only thing that's broken is the front window downstairs.”

“...Good. Okay. That's good.”

“Henry, really, it's fine. I promise. I'm gonna stay the night and make sure no one else tries to break in. You should go to bed.”

“I know, but...I...”

Emma sighed.

“Henry, is there something I can do to make it easier for you to go to sleep?”

“She tells me stories...and sometimes sings.”

“I have no stories to share and if I sang to you, you wouldn't sleep. You'd be more on edge and your ears would bleed.”

“Um...maybe I...”

Emma waited almost a full minute, but he never finished his sentence.

“I'm not going to judge you if you want to hear her voice, Henry. I told you before I left that she's your mom. Forget all the crap she's done in her past. Just focus on all the things she's done for you, okay? Focus on her being your mom and that's all that matters.”

“Okay. Can I...can I talk to her?”

“Yeah. Give me a sec.”

Emma went down the hall and knocked three times on Regina's closed bedroom door.

“Regina?”

Only a second later, Regina opened the door and tried to keep her expression neutral.

“Henry needs to hear your voice to know you're okay,” Emma said as she held up the walkie talkie for Regina to see. “Talk to him until he falls asleep?”

Regina smiled. It was tainted with painful hope and a small amount of happiness. She took the walkie talkie from Emma and held down the bottom to talk, but took a moment to find the words to say.

“Henry? It's me.”

A few seconds passed before he replied.

“You're really okay?”

“Yes, Henry. I'm okay. Emma took care of everything.”

Emma and Regina's eyes locked for a moment and the tension between them was thick and palpable before Regina spoke into the walkie talkie again as she turned and headed toward her bed.

“How are you?”

“Um...”

Emma followed Regina to the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress near the foot of the bed.

“I'm...”

Henry still hadn't managed to say much. Both mothers heard the inner and outer struggle present in his voice.

Regina sat on her side of the bed and leaned back against the headboard.

“It's difficult,” he finally managed to say. “I don't...know how I feel.”

“That's okay,” Regina soothingly assured him. “I know it's confusing for you right now and I understand. I'm truly sorry I lied to you about everything and I'm sorry I've now put you in this position.”

Henry didn't say anything for a while, but Regina waited for him to speak. She was wide awake and ready to do everything for her son.

“Part of me wants to see you,” Henry slowly started. “And the other part of me wants you to stay away and leave everyone alone.”

Regina took a deep breath before she came up with a reply.

“I can leave everyone alone. If that's what it takes to show you that who I am is not what I've done then that's what I'll do. If you want to see me, you can. I'll even agree to have Emma there if that's what it takes. But...if you don't want to see me, that's understandable. I won't question it and I won't try to argue with you.

“In the past, I may have pushed you to do things because I thought it was best, but now I'm going to let you make the decisions. These are things that are ultimately up to you. Whatever you want from me, I'll give it to you. Okay?”

“...Okay.”

“Are you tired?”

“Not...really.”

“Would you like me to tell you a story?”

“That story...about the princess and the knight?”

“What about it?”

“Is that kind of about...you and...Emma?”

Regina looked over at Emma as the blonde continued to tensely sit on the edge of the bed, her back mostly to Regina though when she turned her head slightly the brunette could see one side of her face.

“Maybe a little,” Regina admitted after a few seconds.

“Tell me that story.”

“About the princess and the knight or about Emma and I?”

“Both.”

“Okay. Let's see,” Regina started as she racked her brain for a way to tell both stories simultaneously. “We left off with the knight asking the princess if she could come up to the princess' room, right?”

“Yeah.”

Emma slowly turned to face Regina though she remained on the edge of the bed a safe distance from the brunette, a little intrigued.

“Well, I'm the princess in the story and Emma's the knight.”

“Yeah. I got that part. But...Emma's technically a princess too, isn't she?”

Regina flashed the tiniest of smiles before she answered.

“Yes, but I think she makes a much better knight, don't you?”

“She did protect you tonight,” Henry said as he honestly thought about it. “And she promised she was going to take care of you that one night when you had a bad dream and she was staying at the house.”

“She did,” Regina looked right at Emma as she spoke.

“So, does the princess let the knight into her room?”

Regina continued to stare at Emma as she hesitated to answer him.

Emma looked at Regina as though she was just as interested in the story as Henry, but she also saw the reason for Regina's hesitance in the woman's revealing eyes.

“On that night, yes. The princess allowed the knight a place to stay. So the knight climbed up the castle wall and tumbled onto the balcony. She stumbled toward the princess and laughed at her own clumsiness.”

Emma moved closer to the head of the bed, but remained seated on the edge.

“What happened next,” Henry asked.

“The princess backed away from the knight, wide eyed and curious about the knight's peculiar behavior.”

“Wait, is this how you and Emma got together?”

“No, Emma didn't stumble toward me. We weren't as pleasant or polite with each other when we first started...seeing each other. But Emma still managed to surprise me with every little thing she did. That part is the same between the two stories.”

“Got it. What did the princess do about the knight's weird behavior?”

“I don't have weird behavior. Do you see what you're teaching him,” Emma joked.

“ _I'm_ telling the story,” Regina grinned.

Emma rolled her eyes and laid down on the empty side of the bed. She flipped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

“The knight apologized,” Regina continued with the story. “And then she asked if the princess would teach her about the kingdom. The knight was only visiting the land and knew nothing about the King and Queen.

“The princess led the knight into her chambers and offered her the chaise near the balcony. The princess said they had to keep quiet so the Queen wouldn't wake. The knight didn't seem to know the definition of the word quiet because she was loud, but thankfully she and the princess fell asleep very early into the conversation.”

Emma yawned and closed her eyes.

“The princess,” Regina went on, “woke up what felt like minutes later with the knight in her bed.”

“Gross,” Henry sleepily said through the walkie talkie before he yawned.

Regina chuckled.

“Not gross. The knight was only there because the Queen was roaming the halls and was pounding on the door. She had her sword out and at the ready with her hand pressed to the princess' arm. She used her whole her body to shield the princess from what stood on the other side of the chamber doors.

“The princess heard the Queen's voice call out her name and she quickly sat up. She explained to the knight it was her mother and that she needed to hide. The princess wasn't supposed to have anyone in her chambers. So she pushed the knight into her closet and opened the door.

“The Queen yelled at the princess about being woken up and about how she hated when the princess locked her chambers. The Queen was always furious with the princess, but the princess had years of experience with her disapproval. It took only a few more minutes before the princess got the Queen to leave and when she did, she opened the closet door and saw the blonde haired knight smirking at her.”

Regina looked down at Emma beside her. The woman's breathing seemed slow and evened out, her eyes still closed.

“The princess didn't realize then what she had. The knight was much more than a knight and that smirk was one of the little details the princess would come to love about her. The knight was a fighter and had a certain confidence. She's a hell of a woman.”

Regina reached down and started to brush Emma's hair away from her face. She ran her fingertips up and down Emma's arm and stared at her, watched her sleep. She smiled to herself as she remembered every small and stupid thing Emma ever did for her. She remembered how Emma felt and smelled and sounded when she was happy and becoming a permanent part of the Mills family.

She didn't realize how long she had stopped to look at Emma, but she suddenly noticed she hadn't heard Henry ask her to continue and she hadn't spoke in some time. Though she didn't know exactly how long, she knew it would have been long enough to get Henry's attention.

“Henry,” Regina asked in a whisper. “Are you asleep?”

She waited a minute or two with no reply before she decided he had indeed fell asleep. She left the walkie talkie on, but set it down on the nightstand next to her before she carefully maneuvered Emma under the covers. She then slipped under the covers herself and turned off the bedside lamp.

Regina stayed on her side of the bed to give the blonde her space since she had wanted to stay in the guest bedroom, away from Regina, but when she drifted off to sleep she had no control over what Emma did.

* * *

Regina was the first to wake up and when she did, she felt a warm pressure on one side of her body. She frowned and furrowed her brows before she looked down and to her left where she saw blonde hair partially fanned out around her shoulder and chest.

Emma had attached herself to Regina at some point during the night and clung to her from behind. One arm was slung over Regina's chest while her leg was draped over Regina's hips. The blonde's position had caused Regina to be half on her back and half on her side so Emma could rest her head on Regina's chest, but apparently Regina didn't mind. The brunette hadn't moved since Emma had done all but climb completely on top of her and when she woke, she still had yet to move herself or Emma.

Regina smiled at Emma once she noticed the other woman and brushed her fingers through tangled blonde hair as best she could in her then slightly awkward yet somewhat comfortable position.

Emma hummed and nuzzled her face into the crook of Regina's neck.

Regina chuckled and shifted just enough to allow Emma to occupy the space between her collarbone and pulse point without being tickled and poked by stray, blonde strands. She took a deep breath and slowly released it through her nose as she briefly looked up at the ceiling then relaxed her eyes closed. She wanted to drift back to sleep and stay wrapped up in bed with Emma all day, but she knew as soon as the younger woman opened her green eyes she would surely flee.

So Regina decided to just enjoy what she had while she had it because even after only a day without it, she already missed it. She knew that the second the curse broke and she would continue to remind herself of what she'd lost to ensure she never forgot. It was a form of self-prescribed punishment, but it was also a way to avoid further heartbreak. If she forgot that she no longer had Emma or Henry, she would allow herself to feel the joy they caused her just for it to be ripped away by one look from either of them. Emma would stare at her like she couldn't understand how Regina could be so delusional and Henry would look at her with disappointment.

Thankfully, Emma gave her almost an hour of peace that morning. She held the younger woman against her body and rested with her, but didn't fall back to sleep. Though that's what she thought she wanted, to sleep with Emma a little longer, she soon realized she wanted to be awake to savor the smell of Emma's hair and listen to her breathe against her neck and chest. She wanted to be awake to appreciate all the things she already knew and had taken time to enjoy before the curse broke, but wanted to keep the memories alive for as long as possible. Taking them all in while she still could would certainly do that even though she knew it would probably hurt more when Emma realized how they'd slept.

When the hour was almost up, Emma was as well. She slowly started to stir, but seemed to have no idea where she was or why the bed she slept on hadn't felt like a bed at all. Her eyes opened and then focused on the object she had been sleeping on and when she saw Regina, she blinked until her eyes were wide enough to show her surprise.

“You fell asleep here when I was telling Henry a bedtime story over the walkie talkie,” Regina explained, her features mostly neutral aside from her expressive eyes that always gave away her true feelings.

Both women knew Regina looked a little wounded and apologetic.

“Oh. Right,” Emma said as she furrowed her brows and played through the events of the previous night. “Sorry.”

Regina tried not to look even more pathetic by nearly crying as she shook her head against her pillow and rolled onto her side as Emma knelt beside her on the bed.

“No. It's okay. I mean, _I'm_ okay with it. I understand if you...”

Regina trailed off, unable to voice her suspicions that Emma didn't want to confuse either of them with the intimate sleeping arrangement.

“It's not like I'm disgusted or ashamed of this, Regina,” Emma started as she motioned between them with her hand. “I just...this is really complicated.”

“I know.”

“And I don't want you to get the wrong idea about us because–”

“There isn't an 'us' anymore. Yes, I understand.”

Emma seemed to deflate when she heard the words out loud. It wasn't as if she expected them to still be a couple after what she found out about Regina and the whole damn town, but she hadn't really told herself yet that it was over. She couldn't. Even if she had used the term ex-girlfriend, it was still too hard to think that the person she fell hard for, yet again, was just another disappointment. It was too hard to understand that the Regina she knew wasn't the only Regina within the alluring and enigmatic woman she'd met and slept with and gave all that was left of her heart since her first love had all but crushed it completely. To think she had to get over and move past the woman that helped her see there was still a little something left of the aching muscle inside her pained chest tore her apart. If she really thought about it, the heartache Regina caused felt heavier and more devastating than the hurt caused by the father of her son.

Emma's expression fell and she immediately looked like a kicked puppy on the verge of tears and possibly throwing up. She started to shuffle off the bed, but Regina quickly sat up and grabbed her wrist. Emma stared right at Regina and the emotions written across her face didn't change. She still looked hurt and physically ill.

“I know you want to run, but please,” Regina begged. “Don't.”

“I can't stay here. I have to– I need to go...somewhere!”

Regina shook her head again as she closed some of the space between them and pushed herself onto her knees to be almost at eye level with Emma who still remained kneeling on the bed.

“You can leave this house and you don't have to go back to the apartment, but don't you dare leave this town.”

“You can't stop me,” Emma quietly said, though it was said with a great amount of conviction.

“No, I can't. But if you leave, think about Henry. You may have stayed here because of me for whatever reason, but he grew on you. You knew he would and you let it happen anyway.”

“I could say the same happened when it comes to you,” Emma interjected with a slightly gravelly voice, a little flat but also angry.

“If you can't convince yourself to stay simply because he wants and needs _you_ then think about who you'd be leaving him with. I'm sure your parents would take him from me and then he'd have _no_ mother. At all. You know what that's like, don't you.”

Emma frowned and slumped forward.

“I don't know what to do,” Emma barely managed to say above a whisper as she lowered her gaze to the mattress underneath them.

“Why don't...you stay for breakfast and I'll tell you whatever you want to know. That would be a start, right?”

“I don't want to know _anything_ ,” Emma said as her eyes snapped back up to Regina's. “You cursed everyone here and I grew up without a family who couldn't even remember they had me! I believed that you weren't who Henry said you were, but at _some_ point you were the Evil Queen. That alone is insane! That book is supposed to be filled with stories about fictional _fairy tales_. They aren't supposed to be real people and they certainly shouldn't be the people I fuck!”

Regina winced at the expletive. She felt slighted and demeaned by that word when she knew they hadn't just fucked. The more sex they had, the closer they got to each other and that was something Regina knew neither one of them could deny. She hadn't felt anything like what the two of them had except for with Daniel and she had given up the ring to try to keep Emma from falling apart like she was that very moment. Right in front of her.

“This shouldn't be real,” Emma lowered her voice.

“And yet, it's the only thing that's real,” Regina said. “I'm _sorry_ , Emma. I know I could say it a million more times and it still won't be enough, but I can't...I can't let this destroy you.”

“Funny, since you had no problem with destroying me if it was the last thing you did, right? I mean, that's what it felt like before that night outside your office, under the apple tree. The night that everything changed?”

“And that fact alone should convince you that I'm not the woman in that damn book! I've done horrible things, most of them outlined in the book, yes. But I haven't done anything that cruel since I cast the curse.”

“And Graham?”

Emma's voice cracked.

Regina thickly swallowed and looked down at her hands.

“Oh my god,” Emma breathed out, two seconds away from crying. “ _That_ was cruel. You _killed_ him!”

“Just...let me explain,” Regina pleaded. “A calm discussion about...everything. I don't expect you to forgive me, I just want you to hear _my_ side of the story.”

“Why did it have to be you,” Emma asked so quietly that if it wasn't so still in the room, Regina might not have heard her. “Why did I have to...”

Emma took a deep breath and shut down. She closed herself off and looked resigned to all emotion aside from anger, prepared to fight or walk away if need be.

“Fine,” Emma briskly said. “We can talk over breakfast.”

Regina felt her heart clatter to the pit of her stomach at the sight of Emma bury her emotions and turn into the closest thing to a robot a human could be without scientific experimentation. The woman gave her only seconds to accept that change and follow Emma down to the kitchen before the other woman removed herself from the bed and practically left Regina behind like she no longer mattered and Emma no longer cared what she did.

Once they were in the kitchen, Regina started to prepare a quick but thought out breakfast for Emma while the blonde took several minutes to calm down. By the time Regina had two pancakes finished, Emma had relaxed into a less dramatic state of emotion. Though she didn't appear on the cusp of a mental breakdown, she also didn't seem so angry and eerily tame as she had only moments before entering the kitchen.

Regina served the two pancakes to Emma on one plate and turned off the stove. She cleaned up what little there was to clean before she cautiously ushered Emma into the dining room. They took their usual seats next to each other, but Emma moved her chair a little further down the table to give them a small amount of space. Though it hurt Regina, she was thankful that Emma at least didn't have it in her to sit at the other end of the table and put more distance between them than the brunette could handle.

“You're not gonna eat,” Emma asked.

Regina nervously licked her lips then cleared her throat.

“No. I'm not hungry. I couldn't eat if I wanted to right now.”

Emma looked from Regina down to her food.

“You made me pancakes.”

“Did you want something else? I'm sure I could make eggs or even let you have a bowl of cereal if you'd prefer.”

“Um, no. It's just that...pancakes are...usually what you serve someone after you spent the night together.”

Regina furrowed her brows.

“But...we did spend the night together.”

Emma shook her head.

“Spent the night as in had sex the night before and then stayed through breakfast the next day,” Emma elaborated.

“Oh.” Regina felt as guilty as she looked. “I didn't realize.”

“No, uh, it's okay,” Emma replied. “I don't...mind.”

Emma sighed before she collected herself and her thoughts and continued.

“It's fine. Really. Who decided pancakes were the morning after food anyway? Like, why is there just one specific meal that says 'we did it'.”

Regina smiled and softly said, “Thank you.”

Emma flashed a barely there smile, but one that was seen all the same.

“Yeah,” Emma shrugged then started to eat.

Regina cleared her throat again.

“I don't...I don't know how to start this and I want you to ask me questions when you're ready, but I think there's something I should say. Regardless of the questions you may have.”

Emma briefly glanced at Regina before she set her fork down on the plate and kept her eyes averted while she finished chewing.

“You've seen me as Regina. You never believed Henry when he told you I was the Evil Queen. I made sure you and him didn't see the part of me. Not just because it's the worst side of myself, but because I don't want to hurt those I hold dear. I lost a lot when I cast the curse and I see now that I'll continue to lose a lot unless I own up to my mistakes.”

Emma slowly started to look up at Regina while the brunette picked at the table cloth and kept her eyes down as she spoke.

“Back in the Enchanted Forest,” Regina continued. “I didn't care what I did, right or wrong, and I don't even think I knew what was wrong anymore. I just knew what I wanted. I wanted revenge. It may have been malicious to seek out the destruction I did back then, but I thought it was justification for the things done to me.”

Regina flicked her eyes up and they instantly locked onto Emma's.

“All of this can be explained when you ask your questions,” Regina suddenly dismissed the topic. “What I really want to say is...I never lied about how I feel about you. I've told you before that nothing was real until you, aside from Henry of course, and I told you last night that you and Henry are all I have. All of that is true and...I wouldn't want it any other way.

“There's a reason why I turned to magic all those years ago, Emma. I lost someone very important to me and... Well, I see now that maybe it did happen for a reason. I understand that it might sound terrible for me to say that all the lives I took and ruining your moth– Mary Margaret's life as much as I felt she had ruined mine was worth it, but if I hadn't tried and failed so many times to pay her back for the pain she caused me then I probably wouldn't have cast the curse. If I hadn't done that, I probably would have killed you to spite her. And of course, if that had happened, Henry wouldn't exist. Although, I'm not sure he would have existed without the curse anyway.

“I might not have made the right choices, but the choices I did make led me to the two of you. I wouldn't change a thing about what I did if it meant that a single detail rewritten would keep me from you and him.”

Emma sighed and looked down at the table. She played with her fork and avoided eye contact. She didn't have a response to what Regina had said. Not just yet. She needed to think and let it all sink in. Regina had said several things that implied feelings toward her that she'd never truly felt or believed one could feel toward her before.

“I feel bad about the things I've done,” Regina added. “But I don't regret it.”

Emma swallowed hard and hesitated a few seconds before she nodded.

“I can understand that,” Emma confessed. “There are things I've done, too. And I'm not proud of them, but I can't regret them either.”

“So we _do_ have an understanding,” Regina stated more than asked.

“Yeah.”

“But this isn't you forgiving me.”

Emma locked eyes with Regina.

“...No.”

“Okay,” Regina said before she looked down and picked at her slacks before she brushed away almost unnoticeable lint.

For a moment, the only sound in the dining room heard was the clanking of Emma's fork and knife against her plate. When Emma took another bite of her pancakes and the clanking momentarily stopped, Regina cleared her throat before she spoke again.

“So, how is Henry? I know he's angry with me, but other than that how is he doing?”

“Well, he's adjusting, I guess. It's only been about a day since everything happened, you know? But I think he's okay with finally being able to spend some time with his...grandparents. It seems to me all he's wanted is more family?”

Regina bitterly smiled.

“Yes, it seems he was never content with just me.”

Emma stuttered a few times and blinked over and over again as she struggled to find the right words.

“Oh...no. Regina–”

“It's alright, dear,” Regina tried to force a less bitter smile. “Even when you and I were... He still didn't want to spend time with me. You had to encourage him to be okay with me being his mother just as much as he believes _you_ to be his mother.”

“God, why is this so hard?”

“Why is _what_ so hard?”

“Everything. I've said this before, Regina. Between you and me and then this whole curse thing. Now there's Henry and how he feels about you versus me. I just...I'm glad he's so open to the idea of me being his mother, but... _you_ were there when I wasn't and I... He doesn't seem to appreciate that and, I don't know, that bothers me. I'm so thankful that he just accepts me and loves me even though I gave him up, but it's not okay that he's just tossing you aside. And of course that's not just because I can't imagine how you must feel, but because I...care...about you.”

Regina shook her head.

“Don't worry about how he and I are doing. Worry about being the mother he sees in you, the _hero_ he sees in you. Let me worry about how he sees me.”

“Really, Regina–”

Regina held up a hand to stop her.

“No. I'm telling you to focus on Henry. That's not an insane request. He should come first. Besides, whatever you felt about me shouldn't get in the way of you taking care of him. If he's going to ever forgive me, it'll take time and space and he'll do it his way. We should _both_ respect that. And...I think him wanting you to check in with him to know if I was okay last night is a positive first step toward us repairing our relationship.”

Emma flashed a small smile that disappeared quickly.

“Maybe you two will get along better than before once everything is aired out,” the blonde shrugged with a hopeful tone and expression.

“Maybe,” Regina said with a sad smile and her voice gave away the lack of conviction she felt.

Emma was discomforted by the sound of Regina's voice. She looked down at her food then up at the nearest clock to check the time. Emma pushed her chair away from the table and stood. Regina stood with her.

“Well, I should probably get going,” Emma said.

“I suppose so.”

“Thank you for breakfast.”

“Thank you for agreeing to talk with me.”

Emma tried to smile, but her lips barely even twitched with the small effort.

Regina followed Emma to the door and saw her out of the mansion, but she didn't let Emma pass the front porch before she called her back.

“Emma, wait,” Regina carefully but somewhat desperately said.

Emma spun on her heels and sagged her shoulders with a little bit of relief and a little bit of apprehension.

“I just...” Regina paused and took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

Emma looked confused.

“You...just said that.”

Regina smiled and shook her head as she teared up at the thoughts she couldn't seem to outwardly express.

“Thank you,” Regina repeated as she took a step toward Emma.

“I don't–”

Regina took another step forward and grabbed Emma's wrists less than a second before she pulled the blonde close.

“Regina,” Emma breathed out.

Regina slid her hands down from Emma's wrists into Emma's hands and squeezed.

“I'm going to try...for you and for Henry. I'm going to try to be better and to make up for hurting the two of you. I'm not giving up on either of you.”

Emma gave a watery smile.

“Good,” she said.

Regina cocked her head to the side and stared at Emma with curiosity.

“Because we need you to try,” Emma elaborated. “And if you gave up on us so soon, I'd be really disappointed because I know you and I know you wouldn't take any of this laying down. I used to have the branding on my thigh to prove it.”

They smiled together and seemed to light up with everything but laughter in that moment.

“I don't pull my punches.”

“I know that too,” Emma said, her smile even wider before she was reminded of exactly when Regina had punched her. Graham was still alive then. “But...that's a conversation for another time.”

Suddenly, Regina's face fell.

“Yes. There are several conversations we still need to have. All in due time, if you'll listen,” Regina said as she started to back away from Emma, but continued to hold the other woman's hands.

“Hey,” Emma said as she squeezed Regina's hands and tugged her back toward herself. “I will.”

Regina wanted to smile to show her appreciation, but all she could do was hold back tears of joy for hearing words that meant more than she could describe.

“That's a promise,” Regina said. “You better be able to keep it because if you can't...?”

Emma leaned in and rested her forehead against Regina's. The action immediately quieted the brunette.

“This...really hurts, Regina. But I'm not...I'm not running away. It would be so easy and I still really want to, but I just...can't.”

“You're not...you're not running?”

Regina was shocked and it showed, especially given their earlier conversation about Emma needing to be elsewhere.

Emma faintly smiled and pulled her forehead away from Regina's just far enough to look down into Regina's lowered eyes.

“Apparently, I found somewhere worth staying,” Emma said.

Regina looked up and locked eyes with Emma. There was a moment. Everything was silent and tense and charged with several different emotions.

Emma leaned in again.

Regina's breath hitched.

Green eyes searched brown and brown eyes searched green. Emma looked for permission and Regina looked for proof that the moment was real. They both found what they were looking for when they closed their eyes and the rest of the space between them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come soon.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got this done! So sorry for the ridiculously long wait. As I said on Tumblr, this note is supposed to have a bit of explanation for my absence here. I'll try to keep it short. 1. I was going on a weekend trip for a family reunion. There was so much to do in a short amount of days and by the end of every day I was dead tired. 2. I spent the next week (and weekend) taking care of a last minute video project for a friend who asked/volunteered me to help out with it for a church camp she was involved in. That took up a lot more time and energy than I expected going into it so I was busy and tired and had no time to write. 3. I just didn't have the motivation to get anything done after that. As much as I wanted to do something, I just couldn't find it in me to sit down and write out anything, especially when I knew this was the only story I should really be working on. That right there always makes me less motivated, to limit myself to just one story or chapter and turn it into work instead of the fun that fanfic is supposed to be.
> 
> And those are my excuses, which you either accept or don't. Doesn't matter what you think of them, I just wanted to let you know that it's been a little back and forth and not all rainbows and unicorn stickers for me. ;) Now onto the story.

_“Yes. There are several conversations we still need to have. All in due time, if you'll listen,” Regina said as she started to back away from Emma, but continued to hold the other woman's hands._

_“Hey,” Emma said as she squeezed Regina's hands and tugged her back toward herself. “I will.”_

_Regina wanted to smile to show her appreciation, but all she could do was hold back tears of joy for hearing words that meant more than she could describe._

_“That's a promise,” Regina said. “You better be able to keep it because if you can't...?”_

_Emma leaned in and rested her forehead against Regina's. The action immediately quieted the brunette._

_“This...really hurts, Regina. But I'm not...I'm not running away. It would be so easy and I still really want to, but I just...can't.”_

_“You're not...you're not running?”_

_Regina_ _was shocked and it showed, especially given their earlier conversation about Emma needing to be elsewhere._

_Emma faintly smiled and pulled her forehead away from Regina's just far enough to look down into Regina's lowered eyes._

_“Apparently, I found somewhere worth staying,” Emma said._

_Regina_ _looked up and locked eyes with Emma. There was a moment. Everything was silent and tense and charged with several different emotions._

_Emma leaned in again._

_Regina_ _'s breath hitched._

_Green eyes searched brown and brown eyes searched green. Emma looked for permission and Regina looked for proof that the moment was real. They both found what they were looking for when they closed their eyes and the rest of the space between them._

Regina’s hands moved to Emma’s hips and held her in place as if she was afraid the blonde would do what she promised she wouldn’t and run.

Emma curled her fingers in Regina’s hair to intensify the pressure of their lips against each other as her other hand slid down the woman’s front. She bunched up Regina’s shirt in her fist as she gripped tightly to the brunette’s clothes and pulled her as close as physically possible.

The kiss was heated and frantic, almost desperate. They moved together like the curse hadn’t broken and Emma hadn’t resisted those familiar, plump lips she now couldn’t seem to tear herself away from even as oxygen started to become an issue.

Regina somewhat clumsily fell forward into Emma when the woman pulled her by the shirt, but she quickly compensated for the unexpected move by pushing even further into Emma until she forced the blonde to stumble backward into the nearest pillar.

Emma opened her eyes and broke the kiss with a slight upward tilt of her chin.

Regina slowly opened her eyes to stare into an intense green gaze directed solely on her. She waited for Emma to say or do something that would permit her to go forward with whatever it was they were doing and a second later, she got the confirmation she needed.

Emma leaned in again with a slow, careful pace. She took her time before her eyes slipped closed and her lips were almost touching Regina’s.

Regina followed Emma’s lead and closed her eyes before she leaned into the remaining space between them for a much slower but still very hot kiss. She sighed into Emma’s mouth and pressed her lower body into the blonde’s.

Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and her hands started to wander down her back. When she reached Regina’s lower back, she slid her hands to the woman’s hips and kept her close but held on with a loose grip that gave the brunette plenty of freedom to move or back away.

The familiarity alone was intoxicating and everything else easily fell away. Nothing outside of that moment, the curves of the other’s body, the scent of each woman’s shampoo, and the languid kisses existed.

Except for the watchful eyes that observed the intimate scene from just far enough away to remain out of sight, but still see every last detail of their encounter aside from the words exchanged before the blonde’s back hit the pillar.

Regina swiped her thumb over Emma’s jaw line before she lowered her hand to her neck and then her bicep. She gently gripped the Savior’s arm before she just rested her hand there.

For years, Regina’s heart – as dark as she knew it to be – had always felt cold and heavy in her chest. There was an emptiness she’d been warned about at least twice before casting the curse, but nothing could compare to the ache of what felt like a steel organ. As she kissed Emma, though, her chest felt significantly lighter. The weight of her misdeeds and decades of longing and loathing just vanished as she slipped her tongue into Emma’s mouth and re-explored a part of the blonde she knew well and truly had yet to forget.

Emma moaned as their tongues danced together and met again and again throughout their kisses. Her body instinctively arched toward the brunette and Regina supplied her with a thigh between the legs. Immediately, she panted between kisses and felt her back gently hit the pillar as the two of them melted into each other.

Regina lowered her mouth to Emma’s neck and trailed kisses from below her ear down toward her collarbone. She brought the hand on Emma’s bicep down with her as she slid it down the blonde’s taut torso to the waistline of her jeans. She slipped her fingers inside the jeans until her knuckles brushed against the waistband.

Then Emma grabbed Regina’s wrist and stopped any further movement.

Regina quickly opened her eyes, which instantly locked on Emma’s.

“Not here,” Emma answered Regina’s unasked question. “Not yet.”

Emma removed Regina’s hand from her jeans and guided it back to Regina’s side before she let go.

“I can’t…” Emma trailed off as she failed to string together the rest of the sentence. “There’s still a lot of stuff we need to talk about before this…before we… If we want to talk about where to go from here, I need to know a few things first.”

Regina nodded.

“Maybe tonight? I can bring us dinner, you can supply the alcohol, and we’ll…work some of this out,” Emma suggested.

Regina smiled then nodded.

“Yes,” she accepted. “We can start as early as six if you’d like.”

“Okay,” Emma said then ran her thumb over Regina’s cheekbone.

Their eyes locked again and Regina froze. She let Emma come to her as she leaned in and pressed their lips together for a final kiss before they started the day separately. When they parted from the kiss, Regina rolled her lips together as if to apply the previous feel of Emma’s lips on her own like it was lipstick.

Emma snickered at the sight.

“What,” Regina asked with a slight smile, though her nerves threatened to make her timid and embarrassed before she could get an answer out of the blonde.

“I’m just glad to know you missed kissing me as much as I missed kissing you,” Emma said with a smile.

Regina cleared her throat and smiled back before she said, “You should probably go.”

Emma nodded and looked down at the ground for a few seconds.

“Tonight. Just us. At six,” Emma repeated the details as if in search for confirmation.

“See you then.”

Emma straightened out her clothes and coughed into her hand before she flashed Regina a quick smile and took a step toward the pathway, but as soon as she took that step she furrowed her brow and frowned. She immediately took a step back and pecked Regina on the lips.

“Okay,” Emma said when she pulled away from the chaste kiss. “See you tonight.”

When Emma stepped toward the pathway that time, she made it all the way to her car.

Regina watched her go and smiled like a schoolgirl with a crush after Emma turned at the end of the pathway to look at her once more before getting in the Bug and leaving. She allowed herself to feel lighter and happier than she’d felt in a while and her eyes and her smile easily gave that away, all without the knowledge that whoever was spying on her had yet to stop staring and saw every last emotion pass across her softened features.

* * *

Though things were still complicated between them, the bliss Emma felt after kissing Regina quickly left her when she returned to the apartment she shared with not only Mary Margaret, but David and Henry too. She felt suffocated the instant she stepped foot inside and suddenly, Mary Margaret—or rather Snow—and David stared right at her from their places in the kitchen.

“Where’s Henry,” Emma asked as she tried to avoid any other line of questioning from her friends turned parents.

“He’s upstairs,” Snow answered, more like a slightly disappointed and upset Mary Margaret than the fairy tale character the pixie-haired woman apparently was. “He fell back asleep a little while ago. He was too worried earlier to get any rest before this morning. Where have you been?”

“I stayed over to make sure whoever broke Regina’s window didn’t come back,” Emma calmly answered, her voice stern like a warning to Snow that the woman needed to tread carefully with her questions or comments regarding Henry’s other mother.

“Did anything happen between you two while you were there,” Snow pressed with sharp eyes.

Emma let out a frustrated sigh and rolled her angry, green eyes.

“It’s none of your business what I did or didn’t do while I was there. It’s _my_ life, Henry’s _my_ son, and I’ll deal with this situation however I want to.”

David stepped in front of Snow and placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her calm as he addressed Emma.

“And how do you want to deal with it,” he carefully asked, his voice void of any judgment or preconceived notions as to how she should handle things.

“Regina and I are gonna talk tonight. I have some questions and she’s willing to answer them. How she answers is gonna determine how we move forward.”

“’We’,” Snow asked as she moved forward and caused David’s hand to slide off her shoulder.

“Yeah, we. Regina and I.”

“You can’t possibly think you have a _future_ with her.”

“Mary Margaret,” David warned with a bit of concern in his voice as he looked between her and Emma.

“I may have confided in you before the curse broke about what was going on between her and me, but that was a mistake. There’s more to it than the five minute conversation we had.”

“She _hurt_ you, Emma,” Snow insisted.

“Like _you_ haven’t,” she bitterly muttered. “I might not have known what I was getting into when she and I first got together, but things changed and any pain she caused along the way, aside from the time she got jealous about Ruby, weren’t harmful. I _liked_ it.”

Snow gasped.

“We’ve already had a similar conversation and I’m tired of having to defend myself, my actions, and my relationship with Regina. The best word I can use to describe it is complicated, but that’s what relationships are. If they were simple, they wouldn’t have passion and they’d be boring and it wouldn’t be worth fighting for.

“I understand Regina’s done some bad things in the past and I’m not trying to overlook that. I just want answers. _Her_ side of the story. I’ve read the details in Henry’s book and it doesn’t make sense so I’m going to have her fill in the blanks.”

“How will you be able to trust anything she says, Emma,” Snow tried to keep composure. “She didn’t tell you the truth about the curse when she could have if she really cared about you.”

Emma scrunched up her face at the strange wording.

“What are you saying,” Emma asked.

“She doesn’t care about _you_ , Emma. She _can’t_.”

Emma scoffed.

“Why can’t she? Because I’m _broken_? Because I don’t know about the Enchanted Forest so I can’t understand anything about her or the rules where you come from? Because I’m _your_ daughter and she’s _your_ enemy and that’s supposed to make her mine too?”

“Yes, because she’s my enemy. _Our_ enemy. She cursed this entire town, Emma. Not just me. She’s had it out for all three of us since you were born and before that she just had it out for me.”

Emma shook her head.

“Here’s the thing…I’m _not_ your daughter. You didn’t raise me. You _abandoned_ me.”

“We _saved_ you. From _her_ ,” Snow corrected with a hopeful look in her eyes as she quickly tried to approach the blonde. “She’s the reason we weren’t together.”

“No, she’s the reason _you_ had to _chose_ whether we were together or not. She didn’t make you give me up. And I get that it was a tough decision, but maybe she had a really good reason for casting the curse. That’s what I’m gonna find out tonight and you can’t keep me from getting answers just like you can’t keep me from her.”

“I’m glad to finally have you back,” David started before Snow could say anything more. “And I hope that one day you’ll believe us when we say we gave you up to give you your best chance…because I _really_ want us to be a family, for you to _accept_ us as your family. But the most important thing I want you to know right now is that I don’t plan on keeping you from Regina.”

“What?!”

Snow seemed shocked and outraged while Emma’s eyes widened and she blinked a few times while she seemingly digested what she’d just heard.

“I don’t like what Regina’s done in the past and I’m not sure I like the sound of what she’s done with you, whether she had your consent or not, but even as your father it’s not really my place to dictate your life at this point. You’re an adult and you can make your own decisions. You’ve made that clear. Just be careful when you’re with her. That’s all I ask.”

Emma took a deep breath and slowly released it in a sigh then nodded.

“Yeah. Careful. Got it.”

Emma went upstairs and left the couple to argue in the kitchen about their “lack of a united front” and watched Henry from the top of the stairs while he slept. After a few moments, she walked across the room and laid beside him on the bed where he wasn’t curled up with the walkie-talkie they’d communicated with the previous night. She closed her eyes and relaxed into the mattress while Snow and David tried and failed to not raise their voices downstairs.

As much as it felt like a normal family, not that Emma had much experience with a normal anything, she didn’t feel right. She didn’t feel at home. Fairy tales were real, she’d slept with and developed feelings for _the_ Evil Queen who also turned out to be her son’s adoptive mother, and she was supposed to be the hero of the story.

She didn’t feel like a hero. Not even close. She’d spent so much time in foster care wanting to be one thing or another for family after family just so they’d keep her, but in Storybrooke at twenty-eight years old and finally united with her parents she didn’t want to be anything. At least, she didn’t want to be the Savior. She wanted to be Emma. And Emma made mistakes. A lot of mistakes. She wasn’t perfect, but she was the woman who had Henry and Regina and just a glimmer of hope that maybe she’d get something right in her life without having to be anything else but herself.

* * *

About an hour before she left the apartment to meet Regina, Emma explained her plan to Henry. She told him about needing answers and how cooperative Regina had been so far. She ignored whatever Snow wanted to say and made sure that she and Henry had plenty of time to talk things out before she did anything he might not agree with. He had no complaints at that point so Emma decided to tell him the biggest news that came with her wanting to talk to Regina, the main reason she even wanted to sit down and hash everything out with the woman in the first place.

“She’s probably not going to tell me a lot of things that I’ll be happy to hear or things that I’ll easily forgive, but I’m hoping that she’ll tell me the truth. And if she does…then the plan is to try and fix things between her and me. Would that be okay with you? If we tried to fix things?”

“You mean,” Henry started, his nose scrunched up as he tried to understand, “fix things so you’ll get back together?”

Emma gulped and followed it with a nod.

Henry stayed quiet for a moment. He looked from Emma down to his lap and seemed to give either his answer or the information about his mothers’ some consideration.

“I think…if that’s what you both decide then…I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure,” Emma asked. “Because we don’t want to do anything that would upset you.”

“Well…she lied to me. I love her. She’s still my mom, but…she lied. I was in therapy a lot longer than we thought I’d be because she didn’t want to tell me the truth about the curse.”

“And I lied to you about how I was getting close to her. We both lied, Henry. We thought it was the right thing to do.”

“But she did it to protect herself.”

“I’m sure she had more reasons than that for doing it. It sucks, I know, but that’s what tonight’s about. If she and I want to try to make things work, I’ll make sure you get your answers too. Okay?”

Henry stared at her for a long, silent moment before he nodded.

“Good. I’m gonna go over there right now and figure this out.”

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know. I’ll try to make it back before it gets too late.”

“Okay,” he softly said. “Emma?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you…will you give her a hug for me?”

Emma smiled at him.

“Of course. I’ll see you later.”

She hugged him goodbye and he squeezed a little like he needed the additional pressure and warmth from her. She gave it to him and left the apartment without giving David or Snow anything more than a quick “bye” on her way out.

She was almost halfway to Regina’s when her tires seemed to hit something and for a moment, she lost control of the wheel. Before she knew it, she screeched to a halt before she could smash her passenger side door against a telephone poll. She gripped her steering wheel tightly for a moment as she panted and tried to regain control of her breathing. When she slowly started to calm down from her almost-accident, she let go of the wheel and puffed out a sigh as she slumped back against her seat.

She closed her eyes for a moment and attempted to calm herself. It took her about a minute before she opened her eyes and considered finishing the drive to Regina’s, but her door abruptly opened just as she went to shift gears and drive off and a woman in strange clothes grinned down at her.

“Hello, dear,” she purred through bright red lips and a wicked expression that left Emma with no doubt that the brown haired woman, whose hair was swept back in a tight bun, was trouble.

* * *

Silverware clanked and scraped against plates in the apartment as Snow, Charming, and Henry ate dinner in silence. A few chewing sounds and shared looks of worry and growing anger and disdain were the only things expressed at the table. And Henry, of course, was the one caught in the middle.

“Maybe Emma’s right to be upset,” Henry spoke up. “I know my mom’s done a lot of bad stuff and I’m not saying we should just…forgive her. I’m still mad that she lied to me, but I saw them. Before I knew they were…together.”

Snow shook her head and opened her mouth to interject, but Henry continued.

“It was the usual at first. Before Emma started coming over for dinner, they still seemed against each other. But then we all started eating together and Emma would see my mom when she picked me up and dropped me off. They were…different. It actually…kind of felt…normal.”

Snow and Charming both furrowed their brows. They looked at each other for a moment before Snow turned back to Henry and set down her utensils to give the boy her full attention.

“You… They… How?”

Henry shrugged. “I guess something happened.”

Charming looked from Henry to Snow and when his eyes locked on Snow’s face, his expression appeared to change to realization followed by understanding. He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his cheek and mouth as he seemed to attempt to take it all in.

“I don’t really get it, but it works for them, I guess. Maybe for all of us,” Henry added.

“Well…” Snow started as she blinked several times and thought about it as she spoke. “I…suppose she was more focused on Emma for the last couple of months instead of trying to get at me. Of course, she _knew_ who Emma was and how it would affect me when the curse broke.”

“But she didn’t want the curse to break,” Henry argued.

“He’s right,” Charming agreed. “Why would she want to break the curse she cast, especially if it meant hurting Henry when he found out he was right about her being the Evil Queen?”

“To finally rub her—whatever it is she has with Emma—in our faces.”

Charming shook his head.

“And risk Henry and Emma knowing who she really was and that she cursed all of us? Cursed their family,” Charming asked. “I know you can’t possibly think that’s true. I understand Regina’s had it out for you for a long time, but maybe…there’s something more to what’s going on between Emma and Regina then we might be ready to believe.”

“That much I seemed to get from Emma’s yelling and defensiveness, but I’m not sure whatever Emma’s feelings for Regina are returned.”

“Maybe not, but we don’t have to keep pushing her. At least, not right now. We still haven’t really had a conversation with her yet…about anything. Have you noticed she’s the only one _not_ at this table?”

“I did notice that, yes,” she tensely said through almost gritted teeth.

“Did it occur to you that maybe running to Regina isn’t just about her and Regina? Maybe because we had that argument with her she ran off just to avoid us? To spite us?”

“Then we’ll go to Regina’s and make her understand–”

“Understand what, Snow? Regina doesn’t _actually_ seem to be hurting her. Aside from Emma finding out about her being the Evil Queen and–” Charming cut a look to Henry before he approached the subject more carefully, “the other thing Emma told us about, Emma’s fine. She isn’t in danger with Regina.

“We don’t have to cut Regina any slack, but we should cut Emma some. She’s our daughter.”

“I know. That’s what makes all of this harder,” Snow sadly said.

Henry took another bite of his food and finished chewing as he watched his grandparents discuss his mothers. His plate was mostly clear except for scraps of food and once he swallowed his last bite, he finally rejoined the conversation after he took the time to really think about what Snow had just said.

“Actually, even if they were just friends…wouldn’t that make everything easier?”

The attention was on Henry again.

“The Savior and the Evil Queen working together,” Henry asked in a way that helped make his point.

Charming slowly started to smile and Snow seemed to genuinely consider the concept.

“Maybe I should see Regina when Emma comes back,” Henry added after a moment. “And I think…if they still want to be friends or, um, more…then they should do it.”

Charming nodded with a proud smile directed solely on Henry.

“Well, maybe that would help keep Regina from doing anything we know she’s always been capable of doing,” Charming suggested and kept his focus mostly on Henry with an occasional glance or two at Snow as though he’d silently be able to convince her he was right.

Snow took a deep breath and nodded after several seconds of internal deliberation.

“Whatever might fix things between us and Emma is worth trying,” she said.

Henry smiled then stood and took his plate to the sink.

Charming rubbed and squeezed Snow’s shoulder reassuringly as he smiled at her, seemingly ready for their family to finally be on the same page.

* * *

Regina knew Emma wasn't the most reliable person in the small town she'd created, but at six thirty-two her body tensed and her stomach dropped low in her gut. The blonde had smiled when she left the house that morning and she had agreed to come over at six for their in-depth conversation about whatever Emma herself wanted to know. She wouldn't just say she'd be there and then stand Regina up. If she didn't want to talk, she would have rejected Regina as soon as the topic came up that morning. Something was off. 

When a faint scent of an eerily familiar and panic-inducing magic filtered through her dining room, Regina knew with every ounce of her being that Emma was in trouble. 

"This home is nice, despite how strange a place this area is," a voice that gave her nightmares came from around the corner in the foyer. 

Slowly, the woman who'd caused her more pain than any curse she'd cast or any secret spilled sauntered into the room and smirked upon seeing the brunette wide-eyed and stiff at the head of the table. 

"Don't just sit there, dear. Where are your manners?"

Regina gulped and subtly tried to clear her throat before she verbally addressed her visitor, her entire body ice cold from the myriad of emotions that shot through her starting with shock then panic, worry, and fear. 

"Hello, Mother."

Cora's smirk spread across her face like hearing the title fall from her daughter's lips satisfied her. 

"You've done quite well for yourself here. But I do have a few notes."

"Of course you do," Regina muttered as she tried not to seem so intimidated by her mother. Being weak in front of Cora wouldn’t help her, but she could hardly help how the enticing woman made her feel, especially when she thought she’d buried the woman years ago.

Cora narrowed her gaze on Regina and pursed her lips, seemingly unimpressed.

Regina swallowed slowly and thickly, her throat dry as she tried to keep her composure in front of her mother. She quietly cleared her throat and wrung her hands in front of herself as though she was still a teen under her mother’s scrutiny.

 Cora showed patience, though not much, when she sucked in a deep breath and sighed heavily through her nose while she all but bore holes into her daughter with her heated gaze. She clasped her hands in front of herself and gripped her left hand in her right as she seemingly tried to keep her composure.

Regina gulped and lost the strength and defiance in her eyes as well as in the rest of her features. Her shoulders slumped and she immediately regretted it.

Cora tsked with a scowl on her face before she barked, “Straighten up!”

Regina sprung into proper posture and suddenly, over three decades hadn’t passed at all. She was the same young woman and the same scared little girl controlled by her mother’s aggressive teachings.

“It’s a good thing I decided to protect a section of the land in the Enchanted Forest and found a way here once the curse broke,” Cora continued. “You are completely lost without my help.”

“I have been fine here, Mother,” Regina calmly insisted.

“On the contrary, dear,” Cora shook her head. “Not defending yourself against that mob of people you should be leading instead of fighting, failing to kill Snow White after so many years of seeking revenge, sleeping around with a _woman_?”

Regina’s eyes widened and she went rigid.

“Oh, yes. Don’t think that just because I have only been in town for less than a week that I haven’t already noticed your poor behavior. You’re slipping, dear.”

“What…do you propose I do about it?”

“Fix it,” Cora sternly replied. “And we can start with that harlot you’ve been seeing.”

“She’s not a harlot,” Regina quietly corrected.

Cora slowly sauntered through the room with focused eyes as she inspected everything in the room. She ran a finger along the mantle used to hold a small clock and two artistic pictures of horses. She frowned and contorted her expression into one of disgust and disappointment as she kept her attention on whatever she collected on her finger.

“If you feel that way, you are delusional. She’s far beneath you, dear,” Cora said as she rubbed her dirty finger against her thumb and recomposed herself as she looked from her finger back to her daughter.

“It seems I should have tried to get here sooner,” Cora continued as she approached Regina. “Apparently, you’ve lost control of your people and have forgotten your place versus theirs.”

Regina swallowed, though her throat had suddenly dried out with every step Cora took toward her, and she attempted to stay strong with a regal expression and posture.

“They were never truly my people, Mother,” Regina softly responded with a tense jaw and rigid back.

“Nonsense,” Cora waved off her daughter’s statement with a hint of anger on her face. “You should have _made_ them your people as soon as your coronation took place after the wedding. You seem to have failed in that regard and you’ve had _years_ to correct all of your awful mistakes.”

Regina took a deep breath and clenched her fists at her sides.

Cora looked her over and scrutinized Regina’s appearance when she noticed her clenched fists.

“What is this about,” Cora asked as she gestured to Regina’s hands.

Regina unclenched her fists and looked away as she released a heavy sigh through her nose. Definitely not ladylike.

“Dear, you are anything but a queen with this kind of attitude. To think my daughter, fully grown, still needs lessons in behavior is just shameful.”

Regina clasped her hands in front of herself again as she was taught to do many, many years ago. She subtly cleared her throat and tried to rid herself of the feeling that her mouth and throat were a desert, possibly even worse than the ones she’d read about that existed closer to the West Coast and far from the sheltered town of Storybrooke.

“Now, who is this woman you’ve been bedding,” Cora asked.

Regina flinched, but didn’t blink in response to the question.

“She’s no one,” Regina said, her eyes still wide from the trepidation and distress her mother always seemed to bring out of her.

“If she’s no one then why have you even bothered with her?”

“It’s been a long few decades of boredom and I…needed something to pass the time.”

“I think she’s a distraction,” Cora replied.

“There are no distractions in my life.”

“Really? Then,” Cora paused as she flicked her wrist and, beneath blue smoke, a picture frame appeared. “Who’s this?”

Regina’s eyes popped open wide and her jaw dropped as her eyes were drawn to a picture of her and Henry in Cora’s hand. Her worry soon morphed into fierce protectiveness and a bit of rage. Her eyes sharpened and she growled when she spoke.

“You will leave him out of this, Mother.”

“I will _not_. Not until you explain to me how you’ve managed to fail yet again. Dear girl, I gave you everything, every opportunity, and you’ve squandered them all.”

“My _son_ has nothing to do with what you find wrong with my life and I will _not_ let you anywhere near him.”

“You want to keep me from my grandson? I should get the chance to know him,” Cora somewhat sincerely said, though she didn’t seem too phased by Regina’s particular insistence.

Regina shook her head and seethed.

Cora smirked.

“Don’t worry, my dear. I have no use for him,” she added with an unsettling gleam in her eyes.

Her dark eyes shimmered with something wicked and terrifying that instantly sent a chill down Regina’s spine.

“What have you done,” Regina fearfully asked.

Cora sighed. “You’ll see. This had to be done.”

In an instant, dark blue smoke swirled around them and the two of them disappeared.

The cloud dissipated and Cora and Regina appeared in front of her father’s grave in the Mills mausoleum.

Regina furrowed her brow and questioningly looked at the tomb then turned her attention back to her mother.

“What are we doing here,” Regina asked.

“You’ll see,” Cora repeated as she placed her hands on the tomb and magically pushed it aside to reveal the crypt beneath Henry Sr.’s final resting place.

Cora headed down the narrow stairway into the crypt and Regina cautiously followed her.

When they reached a mirror hung on a wall at the end of one hallway, Cora waved a hand from right to left in front of it and the reflective glass wavered like rippling water. It revealed a hidden room Regina didn’t know her mother knew existed and Cora stepped through the mirror with ease.

Regina walked in after her and noticed how confidently the other woman walked, the effortless way she seemed to glide across the concrete on both sides of the mirror, and somehow seemed proud of herself in a way that made Regina even tenser than the mere presence of her apparently not-dead mother. What she saw in the rarely used but furnished room beneath her father’s grave, however, sent a bone-chilling shiver throughout her entire body as her blood ran cold.

Cora looked over her shoulder and grinned when she saw Regina’s eyes widen and her lips part in alarm and uneasiness.

In front of her, on the other side of the room, Emma sat on a couch with her hands and feet magically bound. The blonde didn’t look afraid, but her steely gaze showed she definitely didn’t like her vulnerable position. Her tense jaw and shallow breathing made that clear.

“What was it you were saying about this woman, dear?”

Regina gulped and kept her eyes locked on Emma, though she knew she might have had to address her mother sooner or later. Later usually incurred punishment because Cora Mills did not like to be kept waiting.

“Oh, now’s not the time to be shy,” Cora continued.

Cora took Regina by the arm and pulled her along with her until they stood close enough to Emma that Regina could smell the faint scent of her house, her sheets, left on the woman from the previous night.

Regina took a deep breath as she and Cora stopped in front of Emma and she gulped again, her throat dry and body stiff as stone.

“This one is a nuisance,” Cora said as she motioned to a helpless Emma. “I don’t know why you keep company with her.”

“Like _you’re_ good company,” Emma mumbled as she glared at the elder Mills.

“And _insolent_ ,” Cora half-hissed, half-growled before she squeezed her hand into a fist.

Emma gasped and emitted a strangled sound as an additional magic binding was wrapped and tightened around the blonde just below her chest.

Regina grimaced and clenched her fists to the point of digging her nails into her palms. She gasped herself at the sight of Emma in a position she’d been in many times throughout her youth.

Emma looked from Cora to Regina with widened eyes. She didn’t look as frightened as Regina might have thought she would, or even should, be. But Regina figured that might have had something to do with how aggressive things had been between herself and Emma. There was a lot Emma seemed to be able to handle from what Regina had seen and that was one of the things she admired about the blonde: resiliency.

Regina opened her mouth as if to say something, but Cora loosened her grip on the binding and Emma coughed and took a few ragged and semi-deep breaths. Cora turned to her daughter with a glare.

“ _She’s_ the reason you’ve lost control, isn’t she,” Cora asked.

Regina panicked and looked rapidly between Emma and Cora before she shook her head.

“No,” Regina argued.

“No?”

“Cora raised an eyebrow, surprised and upset by Regina’s bit of defiance. At least, that’s how Cora had perceived it.

“I believe I’m correct in this matter. I saw you two together this morning. Who is she and why is it you waste your time and concern on her? Other than the fact that she’s _obviously_ no more than a peasant, she’s also a _woman_.”

“Is there something wrong with that,” Emma asked through gritted teeth as she started to somewhat regulate her breathing.

Both Cora and Regina looked at Emma, Regina with a fearful and warning stare and Cora with a scoff and admonishment unreleased and trapped in her throat. Regina was silent, but Cora reordered her thoughts before she spoke.

“You’re twice as useless to my daughter. _That_ is what’s wrong with that,” Cora replied.

Emma’s face went from an aggressive glare to a look of pure confusion and disbelief.

“Mother,” Regina quickly chided.

“Seriously,” Emma asked with utter surprise. “You’re her _mother_?”

Cora haughtily lifted her chin as she acknowledged her captive.

“Yes, dear. Her mother. Honestly, Regina, why do you always pick such dull people to share yourself with? At least the stable boy understood what he was told the first time.”

Regina lost all color and her expression fell into one of gloom and horror.

“Must I do _everything_ for you,” Cora asked as she took a looming step toward Emma.

“Mother, what are you doing,” Regina quickly asked as she took a step toward Cora with a hesitantly outstretched arm that never made contact with her mother even with the uncertainty of what might become of Emma hanging in the air.

“Maybe _this_ time you’ll learn love is weakness,” Cora sniffed before she squeezed the binding below Emma’s chest again and made it hard to breathe then tried to lunge her hand toward the struggling woman.

Regina’s eyes bulged almost completely out of her head when she realized where her mother’s hand was headed to and suddenly, the brunette yelled out and pulled Cora away from the blonde.

“You _ungrateful_ girl,” Cora spat before she slapped Regina hard enough to leave a pink handprint on her left cheek.

Emma watched Regina recoil and slowly start to take a few steps back, away from her mother. With Regina’s distraction, Cora’s magical binding had loosened and when she recognized the particular kind of fear in Regina’s eyes, she started to shift and fidget and wiggle to free herself from Cora’s magical hold.

Cora growled as she backed Regina against a wall then flicked her wrist and held her against that wall with leather straps magically formed out of a group of nearby clothing from days spent as the Evil Queen. To secure the straps against the wall and keep Regina in place against the cement, Cora used magic to fuse the two things together and watched with a wicked sense of pride as her daughter struggled to move away from the wall even when she arched her back and bucked.

“Mother, please,” Regina immediately begged.

“Please, _what_ ,” Cora snapped and tightened the leather around Regina’s arms and waist.

Regina cringed under the pressure of Cora’s magic and tried to breathe through the restraint. She couldn’t hide the panic in her breathing or in her expression.

Emma fought harder against her binding, but it wouldn’t budge. She heard Regina whimper and turned her attention back to the other two in time to see Cora magically pull her still-bound daughter toward her. Emma lost it as she slid to the edge of the couch and wanted nothing more than to get to Regina, especially after hearing and seeing the tell-tale signs of a woman previously, just as she was currently, abused.

That’s when it happened.

One minute she was tied up with magical restraints and the next, those restraints were gone. She gaped at her freed wrists, ankles, and lungs, but as soon as she heard a gasp and a rasped out whisper of “please don’t” from a familiar voice, Emma snapped out of her questioning, curious, thoughts.

Cora grabbed Regina’s face, her fingers pressed into her jaw and partially into her cheeks.

“How dare you question me,” Cora lectured. “I know what’s best for you. I always have. Why must you always fight me?”

Regina’s eyes caught sight of movement over her mother’s shoulder, but couldn’t be sure what she’d seen as the edges of her vision blackened.

“Maybe I should have _you_ do the honors this time,” Cora told Regina. “Apparently you didn’t learn when I took that boy’s heart. Maybe you’ll get it through your head if you get rid of what’s holding you back from being the Queen, and the woman, you can and most certainly _should_ be.”

Regina shook her head as her eyes widened even further, which didn’t seem possible but apparently it was.

“No,” she quietly pleaded with Cora. “No, please.”

“What could you possibly see in that foul woman?”

Regina swallowed thickly and took a moment before she spoke with a slightly wavering voice.

“She isn’t a _peasant_ you believe her to be and I won’t kill her.”

“With your heart, I’ll _make_ you, dear.”

Cora pushed her daughter back a few steps and removed the leather straps before she darted a hand out toward Regina’s chest. Her hand made a sickening plunge into a warm body, but it wasn’t Regina’s.

“No,” Regina yelled and grabbed Emma’s arm from behind. She tightly gripped her hand around the concealed muscle of a strong bicep.

All three women wore shocked expressions with Cora’s hand buried in Emma’s chest.

Cora looked between her frightened daughter and the confused blonde and, after a short moment, accepted the successful moment before her.

“You foolish girl,” Cora said to Emma as her lips started to curl into a smirk.

She yanked her hand away, clutched around Emma’s heart, but when she tried to pull it and her hand completely out of the woman’s chest it seemed to get stuck.

Cora furrowed her brows and tried to pull again.

Emma almost fell forward and into Cora’s arms, but her heart still remained in her chest.

“What? That’s not possible,” Cora hissed.

Regina stared between Emma and Cora at the blonde’s unrelenting heart with awe as she stepped up beside Emma to get a better look at what was happening. She loosened her grip on Emma’s bicep and slid it down the length of the blonde’s arm while she remained in a trance.

Cora looked from her hand to her daughter and clarity seemed to dawn on her.

“You,” she breathed out as she locked onto Regina’s gaze.

Cora looked back to Emma in an instant and narrowed her eyes with suspicion before she asked, “Who are you?”

“The Savior,” Regina answered for her as she furrowed her brows in confusion and looked Emma over from head to toe.

Cora’s jaw dropped a second before a white light emanated from Emma’s chest and blasted her across the room.

Regina puffed out a huge breath of relief as soon as Cora was out of their space, her hand finally removed from Emma’s chest.

“What was that,” Emma, shaking a little, asked Regina as she stared at Cora while the older woman slowly started to pick herself up off the ground.

Regina placed her hand over Emma’s chest and felt her heart beat beneath her touch. She relaxed her body a little just as she’d breathed out her relief earlier. She leaned in and pressed her forehead to Emma’s temple.

“Something we need to discuss. Later,” Regina breathed against Emma’s cheek and loose, tangled blonde curls.

When Cora found her footing, she brushed of her dress and examined the scene in front of her. Her daughter’s hand was over the blonde woman’s heart, but Regina seemed to have no intention of dipping inside to steal the organ for control she clearly lacked without Cora’s help. And on top of that, Emma confirmed something very significant that Cora had more than suspected when she had failed to take the wretched woman’s heart.

Emma gently grabbed Regina’s wrist and didn’t pull the brunette’s hand away from her chest. She slowly closed her eyes for just a moment as the two of them collected themselves.

“You are _weak_ ,” Cora spoke up. “You two are both fools to think love means anything.”

Cora took a step toward them and Emma immediately maneuvered Regina behind herself.

“No. Love isn’t weakness. It’s strength,” Emma said. “Whatever your beliefs, I won’t let you hurt her anymore.”

Cora tilted her head to the side and snickered.

“Regardless of your little parlor trick,” Cora started, “I doubt you can stop me.”

In a split second, Cora threw out her arms toward Emma and Regina and all Emma could do was push Regina down to the ground and out of the way before she herself was flung into the wall Regina had been pinned against not long ago.

Regina looked over her shoulder as she tried to gain back her bearings and she looked every bit like the young girl in love she had been the night Daniel was taken from her.

“Emma,” Regina breathed out barely above a whisper as she took in the woman’s crumpled form.

She wasn’t dead, wasn’t even unconscious, but it was all too familiar for Regina. To see someone she cared for taken down by her mother, it was painful enough the first time and she wouldn’t let it happen again, especially when she and Emma had Henry to think about it.

Cora darkly chuckled and raised her hands again in preparation for another attack. Then, before Regina even thought up a plan, she was on her feet and catapulting into action with wild determination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. Another cliffhanger. Feel free to tell me how horrible I am in a comment, or you could tell me what you honestly thought of this long overdue chapter. Or, you know, you could probably do both. I'll try my hardest to keep up with this as much as I can, but between my terrible sleep schedule and varying moods and the stress I feel from still being unemployed, I can't promise things will be any faster. But I'm trying. Anyway, I hope you liked and enjoyed this. More to come eventually.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not a long chapter and there's not a lot of action, but I hope there's enough in here to enjoy.

Voices filtered in from near? Far? It was all unclear and the voices were distorted, but it sounded like an argument and it sounded bad. There was a “stop this” and a “now I see that you were a mistake” before her eyes slowly opened, her vision unfortunately blurry.

Emma’s head throbbed and pounded and her back was stiff. Each move she made sent a shockwave of pain from her shoulder blades to her tailbone. Breathing surprisingly hurt and while her vision came back to her, the reliability of her legs did not.

She struggled to pick herself up off the floor, but she pushed herself to, at the very least, balance her weight on her knees. Just as she managed to sit up with a few panted grunts, someone cried out and Emma immediately looked up to find the source.

As soon as she saw Regina, it all came back to her in a sobering instant. She neglected her own pain when she saw the brunette in distress and didn’t bother to worry about how long Regina had been left by herself to fight Cora. The only thing that mattered was that Regina didn’t have to fight her alone anymore.

Emma stood and suddenly, Cora had a hand in Regina’s chest. The younger Mills gasped and groaned and injuries aside, Emma would have rather died than see Regina hurt, especially by her psychotic mother. So she threw herself forward while Cora’s attention stayed fixated on Regina and she tackled the older Mills to the ground.

Regina groaned again, louder that time due to Cora ripping out Regina’s heart when tackled, and as soon as Cora and Emma hit the floor, Cora accidentally released Regina’s heart and it stumbled into a corner. Emma wriggled and shifted above Cora then rained down a few punches while Regina hurried after her heart.

Cora refused to let Emma hit her more than twice and used her magic to fling the blonde off her and across the room. With the Savior out of the way, Cora set her sights on Regina and right when her daughter had her heart in her hands she flung her across the room in the same direction she’d thrown Emma. Even before Regina made impact, the brunette’s arm flew out to the side and her heart shot out toward the other wall.

Emma’s eyes widened and she threw out a hand as if the mere motion would do anything to stop the heart’s trajectory.

“No,” Emma yelled, not quite sure how Regina’s heart was out of the woman’s chest and yet she lived, but she feared what would happen should a heart crash into a wall.

It happened in the blink of an eye. Regina was several feet in the air and on her way toward Emma. Regina’s heart was headed straight for one of the hidden room’s four walls. Emma didn’t want to lose Regina, not a single part of her. She yelled and a white, partially purple smoke enveloped Regina’s heart then appeared in Emma’s hand. When the smoke cleared, Emma’s eyes grew even wider because she had Regina’s heart. Literally.

Regina landed with a thump in front of Emma and the brunette twisted her body at the torso and waist to look at Emma. Her eyes quickly widened to match Emma’s surprise and her gaze went from her heart to Emma. They locked eyes and everything and nothing made sense at the same time.

“How,” Cora asked from the other side of the room. “This is…it’s _impossible_. Savior or not you can’t have magic.”

“Apparently she does,” Regina said when she turned from Emma to Cora.

Cora glared at her and then flicked her wrist. Blue smoke formed around Regina’s heart and then Emma accidentally squeezed and instinctively tugged the heart toward herself.

Regina let out a pained cry and curled into herself.

Emma kept Regina’s heart close to her own chest and somehow it made Cora’s magical smoke dissipate.

Cora didn’t look pleased, but she also didn’t stick around to make a second attempt to steal the younger Mills’ heart. She threw up her hands and surrounded herself with that signature blue smoke of hers.

“Emma,” Regina choked out when her mother was gone. “Careful. You’ll…crush it.”

Emma looked from where Cora disappeared to Regina and lastly to the heart she held just a little too tightly.

“Oh,” Emma said and loosened her grip. “Sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Regina sighed and took a deep breath. When Emma relaxed her grip, Regina’s body relaxed.

“I don’t even understand…how this happened or…how I can hold this—your _heart_ —and-and you’re still alive!”

Regina smiled and breathily chuckled before she slowly dragged herself across the floor to get closer to Emma. She reached out and cupped a hand over the part of her heart that Emma didn’t have pressed against her palms.

“I know it’s a _lot_ to take in,” Regina slowly said. “I suppose it’s one of the things we would have talked about if my mother hadn’t shown up.”

“Regina, I have _your heart_!”

Regina laughed again.

“In so many ways,” Regina replied. “Listen, I don’t know where my mother went or how much time we have before she hurts someone else.”

“Then we need to get out there,” Emma started to stand up. “We need to stop her.”

Regina grabbed Emma by the arm and gently guided her back onto the floor with her.

“Right, but…my heart will be a little less vulnerable if it’s not out in the open,” Regina explained.

Emma looked to her hands and exhaled as she nodded and said, “Yeah. Okay.”

“Okay. So I need you to put it back in my chest. Will you do that?”

“Put it back? Wha- How?”

“Like this,” Regina said as she carefully started to pull Emma’s hands and her own heart toward her chest.

Regina positioned her heart against her chest and kept it there for a moment while she was okay with what they’d done so far and what they still had yet to do.

Emma’s breathing was shallow and had worsened the closer Regina bought her heart to her chest.

“When you’re ready, just ease the heart back inside,” Regina instructed. “A little push, nice and gentle, and that’s all it takes.”

“It’s not-? It won’t…? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It’s okay, Emma,” Regina assured her. “Go slow.”

Emma shook her head.

“No. No, no, no,” Emma objected. “You do it. I don’t want to screw this up.”

Regina held Emma’s hands firmly in place.

“You won’t.”

“No, you don’t know much about me. I screw up a lot of stuff and this is _really_ important.”

“You’re wasting precious time, Savior,” Regina teased.

“Regina,” Emma sadly whined.

“Emma,” Regina gently warned with a raised brow. “Small push.”

Emma took a deep breath and hesitated before she applied a little pressure.

“Good,” Regina encouraged. “Just a little more.”

Emma pushed a tiny bit harder and suddenly she had a hand inside Regina’s chest.

Regina gasped once Emma’s hand took the plunge then she brightly smiled.

Emma’s eyes were wide again and she looked stunned, more so than she had during the fight with Cora.

Regina leaned forward and rested her forehead against Emma’s. She placed a hand on Emma’s shoulder and kept one on the hand still nestled inside her chest.

“You know, of all the things we’ve done together,” Emma said, “I think this is the most intimate we’ve ever been.”

“How do you feel about that,” Regina asked, her smile no longer present when she looked at Emma and waited for an answer.

“This is…way more intense than I imagined.”

“Is that…a good thing?”

Emma licked her lips and closed her eyes. She relaxed her previously tense shoulders and set a hand on Regina’s thigh.

“I think it is,” Emma confessed.

Regina released the breath she’d been holding in and relief flooded every part of her. She tilted her head back and when their foreheads didn’t touch, their lips did. Regina sweetly kissed Emma like neither of them had complicated histories both with each other and individually.

Emma reluctantly pulled away after a moment then asked, “So…what happens now?”

“Well, you can start by letting go of my heart. It’ll stay in there. I promise.”

Emma laughed at herself.

“Shut up,” the blonde said in jest. “I’m new to this, remember?”

Regina soothingly rubbed Emma’s arm and a couple of seconds later Emma wore a look of concentration then unclenched her fist around Regina’s heart.

Emma delicately removed her hand from the woman’s chest and then stared at the limb with awe.

“Guess this means I’m much better with my hands than I previously thought,” Emma smiled.

“Looks like being a hero makes you less humble,” Regina replied.

“Hero,” Emma repeated and frowned. “Cora!”

Emma sprang up and Regina stood with her. It all rushed back to the forefront, why they were in that secret room in the first place. Cora had fought them and Cora had disappeared.

“Oh, no,” Regina breathed out with trepidation.

“What?”

“If she couldn’t get want she wanted out of me this time, she’ll find something to make me do what she wants.”

“What does that mean?”

“Henry,” Regina almost talked over the blonde when it hit her. “She might just have use for him after all.”

“And you can’t poof anymore, right,” Emma asked with evident panic.

“I have to try,” Regina said and lifted her arms in her usual movement that would resort in purple smoke.

Nothing happened that time, however.

“Regina?”

“I’m trying!”

Regina raised her arms again and still nothing transpired. She let out a frustrated sigh and tried for a third time.

“Damn it,” she exclaimed through gritted teeth.

“Just relax,” Emma attempted to coach the brunette through magic she didn’t comprehend. “Breathe and try again.”

Regina took a deep breath and a split second before she tried yet again to poof, Emma touched her bicep for support.

Regina closed her eyes as soon as they made contact and she felt a surge of magic flow through her, magic that hadn’t flowed any of the other times she’d tried to poof in the last few minutes.

Regina moved her arms and the fourth time supplied results. Smoke surrounded the two of them and in the blink of an eye, they were at the Charming’s apartment.

“Whoa,” Emma said and stumbled toward the nearest solid surface.

Regina safely guided her to the kitchen counter and kept a hand on Emma’s back while the blonde took a moment to recover.

“Emma,” Mary Margaret asked as she stepped into the open layout of the apartment from her not closed off bedroom.

David was close behind her and added, “Regina?”

“Where’s Henry,” Regina disregarded any pleasantries.

Emma took a few more deep breaths then started to stand up straighter.

Regina rubbed Emma’s back a few times then dropped her hand to her side.

“Henry’s fine,” Mary Margaret answered, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“What’s going on,” David asked and took a step toward the other two.

Footsteps tinked against the metal stairway, though the four of them didn’t notice until the person on the stairs spoke up.

“Mom?”

Everyone’s attention went to Henry.

“Henry,” Emma and Regina simultaneously said with so much relief.

Both women ran to their son and they trapped him in a group hug.

“I thought you didn’t have magic anymore,” David mentioned and focused his sharp, distrusting eyes solely on Regina.

Regina and Emma slowly broke away from the hug and both women looked at David.

“I didn’t have access to it,” Regina started to explain. “Not until…”

When Regina trailed off she looked to Emma and the two met each other’s gaze in an instant. Emma was the first to look away and looked at David and Mary Margaret again.

“Uh, we sort of have a bigger problem,” Emma said.

“What could be a bigger problem than Regina not having magic one minute and then suddenly having enough of it to get here by smoke the next,” David asked, not willing to relent.

“My mother,” Regina flatly answered, not happy to admit it.

David’s expression hardly changed, but Mary Margaret looked as scared as she was shocked.

“That…is not good,” the school teacher said in response.

“No, it isn’t,” Regina unnecessarily confirmed.

“Yeah, she’s trouble and we think she’ll come after Henry to get to Regina to do her bidding.”

“What does she want you to do,” Mary Margaret asked.

“That’s kind of complicated,” Emma answered instead.

“She wanted to rip out Emma’s heart—”

“What,” both David and Mary Margaret loudly asked, or more specifically in Mary Margaret’s case shrilly.

“But she couldn’t take it,” Emma clarified for them.

Mary Margaret and David relaxed.

“It’s a long story,” Regina added. “Even I don’t have all the answers. What we need to worry about is what my mother will do next.”

“Do you know what that is,” David asked.

“Unfortunately, I don’t,” Regina said. “Whatever her plans are, though, you can be sure they aren’t good.”

“What do we do,” Emma asked. “How are we gonna keep Henry safe?”

“He’ll stay with us like he has been,” Mary Margaret said.

“If you think I’m going to leave my son with you two idiots,” Regina started to say, but Emma placed a hand on her bicep for the second time that day and the older woman stopped herself.

“You think he’ll be any safer with you,” David angrily asked.

“Don’t I get to say where I want to go,” Henry asked and all eyes were on him again.

Regina looked apologetically at him and bent down to be at eye level with him.

“Sweetie, I really want you to be wherever you feel most comfortable, but my mother…she’s not someone I want you to ever meet.”

“We have to think about where you’ll be safest,” Emma added.

“But…wouldn’t I be safest with _both_ of you?”

Regina and Emma looked at each other, both unsure of how to proceed.

“Honestly, Kid? We’re both kind of targets for Cora,” Emma decided to admit. “I think if you stay with me, it’ll make Cora’s job a whole hell of a lot easier.”

“But if he’s with me,” Regina interjected, “there’s no telling what could happen to either one of us.”

“That’s why I think we should all be together,” Henry argued, his expression as innocently hopeful as he was.

“Henry,” Emma started to warn him.

“Actually, that doesn’t sound like such a bad idea,” Mary Margaret said.

“What,” Emma and Regina asked and redirected their attention on the other woman.

“Regina wasn’t able to use her magic until Emma was there, right? Well, isn’t it better that Henry’s in a house with magic than an apartment without it? That’s why you don’t want him staying here, isn’t it?”

“Among other reasons,” Regina muttered.

“Maybe Henry has a point,” Mary Margaret continued. “Being together might just be your best option. Otherwise, Henry has nowhere else to go.”

“Are you seriously suggesting they stay together,” David asked Mary Margaret. “After all she’s done to us? And what about what she’s been doing to Emma?”

Emma huffed and rolled her eyes.

“What’d she do to Emma,” Henry piped up, his face contorted into a bewildered expression.

“Nothing,” Emma assured him. “Regina didn’t do anything wrong.”

Emma’s eyes went to the other two adults and glared at them, defiant and frustrated, when she said the last part of her statement.

“As much as I don’t like the idea of them being together in any sense,” Mary Margaret said, “I think this solution is the best thing for Henry right now.”

David sighed then looked to his grandson. After a moment he grunted his reluctant approval and nodded.

Regina looked at Emma and a moment later, Emma looked back.

“Is that okay with you,” Regina asked her. “If we…stick together?”

“Yeah,” Emma nodded and stuffed her hands in her pockets. “It sounds like our best chance and…maybe it’ll give us the opportunity to have that talk we missed out on tonight.”

“Okay,” Regina conceded then turned to Henry. “What do you think about that? The three of us at the house?”

“Wait,” Emma cut off Henry’s answer before he could voice it. “Cora hasn’t been in town long, has she? I mean, she could have been making use of that room in the mausoleum, but she left. She went somewhere else we were still there and for some reason she was done with us. We thought it was because she’d already gone after Henry, but what if she’s at your house?”

“You mean what if she’s waiting there?”

“You’re the one she wants,” Emma explained. “It’s your place. She might be waiting for you to come back and then…I don’t know. Whatever she’s got planned could be set in motion the second you walk through the front door.”

Regina shook her head.

“Truthfully, she could be anywhere. She might not have even left the mausoleum, just the room behind the mirror.”

“Yeah. That’s another thing. That room is sealed off and there’s no real doorway. How’d she know there was a room back there,” Emma inquired.

“Magic can be sensed by other magic users. Maybe she went there whenever it was she first came to Storybrooke and she found my vault. From there she could have sensed the magic used to disguise the room and—”

“But you had no magic,” Emma said.

“That…might not be entirely true.”

“Are you kidding me,” David furiously asked.

Emma looked hurt to hear that Regina hadn’t been honest with her.

“I didn’t have access to my magic once the curse broke and I should have, but I think it’s because magic works differently here than it did in the Enchanted Forest. But…before the curse broke, I still had _some_ magic.”

“What,” Emma shakily asked while she felt her stomach drop.

“Remember how I told you I used the last of my magic to poison the turnover?”

Emma hesitated before she finally replied, “Yeah.”

“Well, it was an object. A ring. It was sort of imbued with magic and it… I may have used it a few times before I used what was left to get the apple I’d poisoned and used against Snow.”

“You used magic _before_ the whole turnover thing,” Emma asked, her eyes big and sad with a wounded look on her face.

“I’m sorry,” Regina genuinely looked and sounded apologetic.

“Did you ever use it against or with me?”

“Twice.”

“Oh my god.”

“But the second time was an accident,” Regina quickly tried to defend herself. “And the first time was innocent. You were chasing Leroy. Nothing like that—we didn’t… You weren’t forced to do anything like that, I promise.”

Emma ran a hand through her hair and tried to take deep breaths, her breathing a little short and erratic while she tried to process the information.

“I think…we need to talk about this alone,” Emma said when words no longer escaped her. “Henry, stay down here for a minute. Regina and I are gonna be upstairs trying to figure this all out. Okay?”

Emma slowly made her way up the stairs while Henry crossed the room to be closer to his grandparents.

Regina nervously clenched and unclenched her fists at her side and stared after Emma as she headed up to only room that had the slightest bit of privacy. When Emma was all the way up the stairs, she looked over at Henry and then Mary Margaret and David. Her features were soft when she looked at Emma and Henry, but she put on a mask when she looked at the couple she deemed “the two idiots.” A few seconds later, she followed after Emma and went up to the blonde’s room.

At the top of the stairs, Regina looked across the room at Emma who was already seated on the edge of her bed. Her eyes were fixed on the floor and her hands tightly gripped the edge of the mattress, her knuckles white from the force. On the outside she appeared shocked, but Regina suspected Emma was also upset and just refused to show it.

 “There are plenty of things I need to explain,” Regina said.

“Yeah, there are,” Emma said and kept her eyes on the floor. “Not twenty minutes ago I held your heart in my hands and helped put it back inside your chest. Everything we haven’t been able to talk about didn’t seem so important anymore, but now you’re telling me you had magic and used it when we were together? I can’t- You could have told me things you’ve done and as much as I might not have liked it or understood it, I could have maybe come around to accept it. Especially since most of it should have been in the past. Like, Enchanted Forest past, you know?”

“Emma, I swear to you that I never used my magic to get you into bed. I never… What we did was always consensual.”

“How can I be sure of that,” Emma asked and finally made eye contact with the brunette.

“Because the only person I ever did anything with that wasn’t explicitly consensual was Graham.”

“Graham? You… He wasn’t with you because he wanted to be with you?”

“I had his heart,” Regina confessed.

“You’re insane!”

“I took his heart in the Enchanted Forest after he helped your mother get away. He was supposed to kill her and bring me her heart. He brought me a stag’s heart instead so I punished him by making him my pet and puppet.”

“That’s sick, Regina. You’re really not giving me any reason to think you didn’t do the same to me in some way.”

“I don’t think there’s anything I could ever say to make you believe me.”

Regina took a step forward and Emma scooted back on the bed and distanced herself from the other woman.

“Every time we had sex, it was never under magical influence,” Regina said and refrained from taking another step toward Emma for the blonde’s comfort. “But there was a time when you and I couldn’t stop. It was… Neither one of us knew what was happening, but even with the magic we never did anything the other person didn’t want. And, as I recall, _you_ had your fingers in _me_ when it happened.”

Emma started to blush.

“I remember,” the blonde admitted after a moment. “It was…it was good.”

Regina smirked and failed to stifle a laugh.

“It’s always been _good_ with us,” Regina boasted.

Emma weakly chuckled.

“Yeah, I can agree with that.”

“That other time, the first time I used magic and it was on purpose, I only stopped you from going after Leroy. I got you to kneel in front of me on that road and that was all. If you don’t believe those were the only times it happened, think back on everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been through. Was there ever a time you can remember that you did something you were dead set against? Was there ever a time you felt forced in any way to do what you did?”

Emma put some thought into it and after a minute, she shook her head.

“No. The first time we ever… I had my doubts about getting involved with you, but you’re right. I never felt like it was never against my will. You didn’t put a spell on me, did you?”

“I hope that’s a joke.”

“Only kind of.”

“The way we started out,” Regina started to explain herself, “I wanted to take pleasure in doing all those things with you, but I always wanted it to be because you wanted to. There’s no fun in an Evil Queen sleeping with her arch enemy’s daughter if it’s not what the daughter wants too.”

“Things changed though. Right? I wasn’t the only one that felt the shift?”

“You’re not the only one. I didn’t fake what happened in the mausoleum today or what happened under the tree. Truthfully I never faked anything with you.”

“Good, because if you had then you would be a _really_ good actress.”

“This is exactly why I offered to talk to you about all of this tonight. I want you to know the truth and I want you to know that no matter how this all started, I’m not trying to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you or Henry. It ended up happening anyway, but I tried to fix things by giving you a better life with the poisoned turnover. It just wasn’t the right way to follow through with my intentions.”

“No kidding.”

“I could tell you all about my past, share every gruesome detail about the things I’ve done before the curse, but I’m not sure that’s really what you want to know.”

“I thought it would help to know the things you’ve done and why, but I think all I really cared about was why and not what.”

Regina nodded.

“Most of my actions were done out of revenge. I punished and killed those who dared help your mother because I wanted nothing more than for her to suffer the way I did. But I’m sure you’ll also want complete honesty so I’ll tell you that some of the things I did, even out of revenge, were cold and harsh when they really didn’t need to be. Sometimes it made me feel better, for a little while. Sometimes I did it just make people fear me so that it might lead me to your mother faster.

“All of that stopped once I cast the curse…with one exception.”

Emma briefly looked away from Regina then locked eyes with her once again before she came to a conclusion.

“Graham.”

“Graham,” Regina repeated. “Aside from our physical relationship and the fact that I controlled his heart, I…I also crushed his heart.”

“That night. When he was leaving you and you thought he was doing it to be with me,” Emma stated.

“Yes,” Regina said and nervously wrung her hands together in front of herself. “It wasn’t really a heart attack that killed him. It was my fist.”

“Oh god.”

“If you don’t… If you want to end this, end it with me, I’ll understand. I don’t want to lose you, but—”

“It’s really hard to swallow,” Emma cut her off, “but if you give me time I might be able to move past it. Plus, I’m not a saint either. I’ve stolen from people, hooked up with people just to leave them like I’ve been left so many times before, and I’ve trusted the wrong people. None of this is easy, but it never really has, has it?”

Though she phrased it as a question, Emma said it like a definitive statement.

Regina smiled and nodded before she changed the subject to their more pressing issues.

“If we’re going to stay together for Henry’s safety, I think it’s best if we stay here,” Regina suggested. “It’s cramped in the apartment, but it’s the only place we’re sure my mother isn’t waiting for us.”

“I agree,” Emma replied. “Henry and I have been staying up here, but you two can take the bed. I’ll take the couch downstairs.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Regina argued. “I’ll take the couch.”

“I really don’t want to leave you alone with my parents for more than a few minutes max. I’ll sleep downstairs.”

“Okay,” Regina gave in.

* * *

As a precaution, Regina tried several times until Emma gave a little assist and placed a protection spell on the apartment. Regina knew she couldn’t always wait around for Emma to touch her to jumpstart her magic, but she had yet to figure out what would allow her to access her magic in the land that wasn’t supposed to have any of it at all. It was a process, one she didn’t think anyone else in town would like once they knew she wasn’t as powerless as they thought. Pressing times were at hand, however, so she did everything she could to prepare for the worst when it came to Cora Mills.

Emma had tried to settle herself on the couch while David and Mary Margaret handed over any extra blankets and pillows they could find when Regina headed upstairs. Once in Emma’s room, Henry had just finished changing into his pajamas. Regina went over to the bed and primly sat down on the edge of it. She crossed her legs and sat stiffly on the very edge of the mattress as though she didn’t want to make herself too comfortable. Too much had happened in the last couple of days and she didn’t think she really had the right to be there in the apartment or be in Emma’s bed. One thing she always knew she had the right to and would fight for the right to do is be there for Henry, wherever he was, whenever he needed her.

Regina watched Henry move around Emma’s room and clean up his dirty clothes from a previous day. Her folded the clothes and placed them in a laundry basket then placed it by the stairs, out of the way so no one could trip over it.

“Emma doesn’t have a hamper for you to put those in,” Regina asked.

“Grandma has the only hamper here and Emma’s only got one laundry basket that’s just hers. Grandma shared with her when she first moved in, but I guess neither of them thought to get more even after Emma had stayed for a while.”

Henry seemed downcast and he shuffled around the room with a frown on his face.

“Are you okay,” Regina asked.

Henry grabbed a nearby sweatshirt and slipped it on. He dejectedly sighed and headed toward the bed. He plopped down beside Regina and scrunched up his face in thought.

“Your mom… She’s…really bad?”

Regina placed a hand on Henry’s knee and tried to find a way to answer him.

“She’s certainly not nice,” Regina flashed a smile. “Let’s just say you don’t want to run into the woman that raised the Evil Queen.”

“But you’re not anymore, right?”

Regina furrowed her brow.

“Evil,” Henry clarified.

“No.”

“So…things with you and Emma are…better?”

“We’re…working on it,” Regina replied. “Things are still a little complicated, but we agree on doing everything we can to keep you safe.”

Raised voices distracted Regina and Henry and they looked to the stairs. The argument downstairs continued for another moment and their things quieted down.

“Are you two a couple,” Henry asked when he and Regina returned to their conversation.

“It’s… We’re not…”

“It’s complicated,” Henry threw Regina’s words from a much earlier time, a vague answer he’d heard at least a few times from both mothers, back at her. “Just promise me you won’t hurt her.”

“I think I already have, but I can promise not to purposely hurt her.”

There were footsteps on the stairs and a moment later, Henry and Regina saw Emma.

“Okay, so you guys have two options. One, you could let me stay up here with you or two, Regina gets to deal with the not-so-happy couple and sleep on the couch.”

“Or I could sleep on the couch,” Henry said. “I kind of don’t want to share a bed with either of my moms if I can help it. I’m eleven, not six.”

“But if Cora—” Emma started, but didn’t get to finish because Regina put her theory to rest.

“She has magic. If she breaks in while we sleep, I doubt she’ll consider using the door. She’ll show up wherever she thinks she needs to be to get what she wants.”

“That’s comforting,” Emma sarcastically said.

“If she attacks, I’ll yell,” Henry said then stood and made his way to the stairs. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Kid.”

“Goodnight, Henry.”

Once the two women were alone together again, awkward silence settled over the room. Emma inched across the room and Regina uncrossed her legs then shifted in place on the bed.

“Is there a side of the bed you prefer,” Regina asked before she moved any further on the mattress.

“How many times have we shared a bed? I sleep on whatever side you’re not on and even then we end up sleeping on top of each other.”

“Indeed.”

“You need something to sleep in?”

“Do you even own a pair of shorts or pajama pants?”

“Oh, I was just gonna lend you a tank top,” Emma said and then smiled.

Regina smiled too.

“I’ve got running shorts, sweatpants, a really long and amazingly comfortable T-shirt that’ll probably cover half of your thighs.”

“I’ll take a pair of shorts and some kind of shirt that hopefully isn’t a tank top.”

Emma pulled a pair of black cotton shorts out of a drawer then dug around for a shirt.

“Best I can do is a dark green V-neck,” Emma said and held it up to show Regina.

“That’s fine,” Regina said and reached out to take the clothes.

Emma gave them to Regina and sat down on the bed, already dressed for sleep.

Regina stood and started to change and Emma laid back on the far side of the bed. The blonde laid out flat on her back and turned her head to watch Regina.

Regina didn’t make a show of stripping down like she’d once done for Emma’ benefit. She stood in her bra and panties by the time she caught Emma staring. She looked over at the blonde as she started to slip into the shorts.

“You almost seem interested,” Regina pointed out as she pulled the shorts up to her hips.

“Can you blame me? Your body’s as sinful as your past.”

Regina immediately stopped changing.

“I meant that as a compliment, but I just heard how that sounded given our last conversation. I’m sorry.”

“Even if that compliment turned me on, this room doesn’t even have a door and our son and your parents are downstairs.”

“I don’t know about you, but I can be very quiet.”

“And now you’re serious about this.”

“I’m not- I’m not trying to get into your pants,” Emma told her. “I couldn’t resist playing along and I’m only admiring the view.”

“Hmm,” Regina hummed and reached behind herself then unhooked her bra.

Emma’s eyes immediately fell to Regina’s chest as soon as the bra landed on the floor.

“Tease,” Emma said, though it took a moment for her to tear her eyes away from Regina’s exposed breasts.

“If I have to work for it so do you,” Regina grinned and let Emma have a good look before she threw on the borrowed shirt.

“It’s what we do best,” Emma said.

“Mhmm,” Regina agreed and turned off the bedside lamp before she slid in next to Emma.

Regina settled under the covers facing Emma.

Emma rolled onto her side and moved closer to Regina.

“All the other stuff aside,” Emma started, “how are you after everything with your mom?”

Regina took a deep breath and momentarily averted her eyes.

“I’ll be lucky if I don’t have any nightmares tonight,” Regina answered then locked eyes with the younger woman again.

“Why would you have nightmares? I know your mom doesn’t scream smiles and peaceful sleep, but…”

“She almost took your heart,” Regina said, a little teary-eyed even as she tried to hold herself together and ward off memories of a life before Storybrooke.

Emma scooted just the tiniest bit closer and waited for Regina to continue, because the look on the brunette’s face said she had more to share.

Regina coiled her fingers around the corner of the pillow under her head and squeezed it in her grip before she spoke again.

“I couldn’t let it happen again. I’m not…I’m not the same person I was when Daniel—”

Regina stopped herself with a pre-cry gasp as she started to lose composure.

“She killed him,” Regina slowly said through partially gritted teeth. “She tricked me into thinking she could accept us together and she got close to him while I just watched. I watched her take his heart and crush it.”

Emma slid her lower body snuggly against Regina’s brushed back a few strands of brunette hair. She moved her hand from Regina’s hair to the other woman’s hand, the one she had clutched to the pillow, and took it in hers. She laced their fingers and kept her eyes focused on Regina and only Regina.

“I don’t want to lose you, especially not like I lost him.”

“I’m still here, aren’t I,” Emma asked with a smile as part of an attempt to lighten the mood.

“For now,” Regina said with a slightly raspy voice.

Emma licked her lips and leaned in. She slowly, sensually, lovingly kissed Regina and subtly pulled their joined hands toward her chest. When the kiss ended, both women opened their eyes and Emma pressed Regina’s palm flat against the place above her heart.

“One thing’s for sure,” Emma told her. “My heart’s still here. And even though some kind of magic of mine is what’s keeping it there in case Cora gets handsy again, you protected it.”

Regina closed her eyes and allowed the feel of Emma’s heart beat beneath her palm to calm her.

“Not to say I could ever replace him,” Emma treaded carefully, “because I can’t and I’ll never try to, but this time is different. Whatever happens now? It won’t be like it was that time. History isn’t going to repeat itself.”

Regina opened her eyes and straight into Emma’s warm and beautifully piercing gaze.

“She can still kill you _without_ taking your heart.”

“Now you’re just being a downer and I don’t know if I want to share my bed with someone who doesn’t believe in the Savior,” Emma smiled.

Regina quietly chuckled, her hushed voice in part because of their proximity to one another but also because of the late hour.

“Are you kicking me out of bed,” Regina asked with a teasing tone.

“God, no. I could never do that,” Emma easily confessed.

Regina laughed a little louder then gradually calm back down before she talked seriously again.

“Promise me if my mother ever takes my heart in an attempt to get to yours, don’t let me have it in any way.”

“Regina—”

“I’m serious, Emma. I don’t know if your magic only protects your heart from her or from any threat to you, but I don’t want to take any chances. If you doubt for a second that I’m not doing or saying what I normally would, stay away from me. Take Henry with you and get as far away as you can.”

Emma gulped then nodded.

“Yeah, I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s been a long day. We should get some sleep,” Emma said.

“I’m not sure I want to close my eyes for even a second with my mother lurking around out there.”

“There’s a spell on the apartment.”

“My mother might easily be able to break through that.”

“She’s a villain, right?”

“What about anything that happened today doesn’t convince you of that?”

Emma stifled a laugh.

“I was mostly just asking to see if you agreed with the statement before I talked even a little badly about your mom. Villains, and sometimes heroes, need time to regroup if their plans fail and I’d say hers did.”

“Fine. I’ll sleep. Tomorrow’s another day. I can always worry about her then.”

“That’s the spirit,” Emma teased.

“How is it I fell for you again?”

Emma bit then released her bottom lip.

“I was the one thing you wanted to mess with more than anything and I was both the perfect challenge and I wooed you. Then things got _twice_ as interesting.”

Regina smiled and it made her glow.

“Now, do you want to be the big spoon or little spoon tonight,” Emma asked with a smile of her own.

Regina rolled her eyes.

“How about no spoons,” Regina replied and then rolled directly on top of Emma.

Emma laughed and wrapped her arms around Regina’s waist.

“It’s how we eventually end up, right,” Regina repeated Emma’s words from the beginning of their conversation.

“Right,” Emma chuckled. “But what happens when we start off this way?”

Regina grinned.

“I’m willing to find out. Are you?”

Emma leaned up and pecked Regina on the lips.

“Ready and intrigued,” Emma answered. “Goodnight, Madam Mayor.”

“Goodnight, Miss Swan.”

Emma opened her legs and Regina maneuvered herself between them. The brunette was in the perfect position and lowered her head down to Emma’s chest. Her hair tickled Emma’s neck, but the tickling didn’t bother the other woman. Back in each other’s arms they quickly fell asleep and though they still had reason to be on high alert, that night they just enjoyed their simple moment of rest and comfort together while they could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I included a lot of things that take place during season 2, kind of small stuff, and I'm not sure anyone noticed, but I tried to put my own spin on the season while also having a few references to the original parts of the show. Sorry if this chapter wasn't what you were expecting, but there's more to come. I don't know when the next update will be, but I'm trying a lot harder to keep up with all my SQ stories as best I can.


	31. Chapter 31

She jerked and gasped and a sheen of sweat coated her forehead, chest, arms, and lower back. She felt hot, blazing hot, and she needed it to stop. She needed it all to stop.

She screamed and popped up, fully awake as she bolted upright with startled, wide eyes. A few seconds passed as she breathed heavily before Regina whimpered then shook with silent sobs.

There was movement next to her on the bed and Regina looked over to see Emma sit up beside her. A hand was on her back in seconds and she noticeably relaxed under the touch.

“Hey, what’s wrong,” Emma asked and rubbed her hand up and down the other woman’s back over and over again.

“A nightmare,” Regina confessed. “I had a nightmare.”

“About your mom?”

Regina nodded.

Emma scooted forward to be shoulder to shoulder with the brunette and dipped her hand under the hem of Regina’s borrowed shirt. She leaned in and rested her chin on the woman’s shoulder.

“I can’t tell you it was just a bad dream or that it’ll all be okay, but we’ll do everything we can to stop her. We won’t let her hurt anyone and _I_ won’t let her hurt _you_ anymore. And I dare her to come after Henry.”

“And who’s going to protect you from her when you’re busy playing hero?”

“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. Remember?”

“Not against her,” Regina sternly insisted.

Footsteps hurried up the stairs and soon Emma and Regina were interrupted by Henry. Charming was close behind him.

“Mom?”

Emma sat up straighter, her chin no longer on Regina’s shoulder but she remained close and kept her hand on Regina’s heated back.

“What happened,” Charming quickly asked, sword in hand as he stood at the top of the stairs behind Henry. “Is it Cora?”

“She’s not here,” Emma told them and watched Charming walk up to stand beside Henry. “There’s no immediate danger.”

“I’m sorry I woke you,” Regina apologized directly to Henry and only spared a quick glance at Charming without the sentiment behind the apology, though she certainly gave it to her son.

Then it truly became a family affair when Snow joined them all in the loft.

“What was that scream,” Snow, acting more like Mary Margaret, asked.

Regina looked down at her lap and a flash of embarrassment crossed over her features before anger and defensiveness replaced it.

Emma noticed it immediately and dropped her hand lower on Regina’s back. She slowly, subtly rubbed circles on the other woman’s back beneath the waistband of her borrowed shorts just above the swell of Regina’s ass.

Regina’s beneath hitched, but only Emma saw it happen.

Regina leaned into Emma’s side ever so slightly.

“Nothing. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Emma protected Regina’s privacy.

“Are you sure,” David asked and took a step closer to the bed.

“Yeah. Go back to sleep,” Emma dismissively said to the couple then softened when she looked at Henry.

No one moved for a long moment. Emma glared at Mary Margaret and David, but Henry grabbed her attention again a few seconds later.

Their son bolted across the room and jumped onto the bed. He crawled into the small space between the two women and looked at Emma before he turned his attention to Regina. He stared at her with wide, serious eyes as he searched hers for even a hint of truth about what had roused them all from sleep in the middle of the night. He easily found a good enough answer in her apologetic expression in almost no time at all.

Without a word, Henry leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Regina’s neck as he hugged her. He felt her sigh and decompress due to the embrace. He remained completely silent while they hugged, her arms around his back only a moment after he’d initiated the hug. A few more seconds passed before he pulled away and looked at her again. And again, he said nothing. The hug and his understanding were enough.

Before Henry slid off the bed, he looked at Emma. “Thank you,” he said with complete sincerity.

The corners of Emma’s lips twitched up in the briefest flash of a smile. He’d appreciated her help with Regina before so she knew his gratitude came from him knowing she was helping again.

“Of course,” Emma replied then looked at Regina for a moment before she turned her attention back to Henry. “Always.”

Regina closed a fist around the back of Emma’s shirt after she heard the promise the blonde made that caused Henry to smile before he then crawled off the bed once and for all. She glanced over at Snow and Charming and could tell they weren’t pleased. Charming even glared at Regina’s hand as it creased Emma’s shirt, not that he could tell from where he stood, but he at least saw that Regina dared to grab at her while they shared a bed when the younger woman’s parents had made it abundantly clear how they felt about the two of them together.

“We’re fine,” Emma insisted again when Henry was the only one to go back downstairs. “Go back to sleep.”

Her tone left no room for argument even though she technically had no authority over her parents. They seemed to respect her and her decision to handle the situation on her own, however, when they slowly, slowly went back down to the first floor of the apartment.

Once no one else was around again, Emma leaned over and draped herself over one of Regina’s sides. Her eyes slipped closed when she felt Regina relax her grip on her shirt and slide her hand up the blonde’s back. She took a deep breath as Regina’s light, gentle touch left goosebumps behind the path her fingers traveled up her spine.

“Thank you,” Regina finally, quietly said.

Emma hummed and then dropped a kiss onto the brunette’s shoulder. She hesitated as she considered her next move. When she did, she kissed Regina’s neck below her ear. She moved further upward and kissed the other woman’s cheek.

Regina exhaled with relief and closed her eyes. She slowly started to fall onto her back, almost ready for sleep once again. Her hand slipped down Emma’s back before she hooked an arm around the blonde’s waist and carefully pulled Emma down onto the bed with her, although Emma had already started to do so on her own.

Emma sandwiched Regina’s arm betwen the bed and her body as she laid on top of it, but Regina fixed the problem soon enough when she tugged the woman onto her side. Emma rolled over and faced Regina, her front flush against Regina’s side while she laid half on top of the brunette.

“Do you mean it,” Regina quietly, almost timidly, asked.

“Mean what?”

“Always. Are you always going to be here?”

“Yes.”

Regina’s chest heaved with the force of her sharp inhale and Emma moved with the other woman’s chest for a moment. Regina locked eyes with Emma and swallowed loudly in the silent, dark but still partially moonlit room.

“The nightmare wasn’t just about my past with my mother,” Regina admitted after a moment. “I watched her kill you.”

“I already told you that’s not going to happen.”

“Don’t be stupid when it comes to going up against her. Just…don’t let her near you or Henry.”

“I already told you that, too. Regina—” Emma tried to smile, but Regina cut her off before she could make light of the situation.

“No. Losing either of you is worse than anything she could do to me. If you get yourself killed, so help me, Emma, I will perform a séance and yell at you as many times as I need to until you understand how badly you hurt me by leaving me.”

“Okay,” Emma firmly agreed. “I won’t leave you. Not because of Cora, not for _any_ reason. As for your mother, she can’t touch this.”

Emma pointed at herself and grinned before she started to sing the melody to “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer. She even wiggled around on top of Regina when she sang it and after a second or two, Regina laughed.

Emma smiled brighter when she wrapped up the song and stopped wiggling. She stared down at Regina for a while and mapped out her face, her expression, her dark eyes, her soft and plump lips.

“Are you sure you haven’t put a spell on me,” Emma throatily teased.

“I thought we already had this discussion. Why are you asking me that again?”

“Because I’m completely mesmerized by you,” Emma replied as her eyes darted back and forth as she continued to stare at Regina.

“You can’t tell me that,” Regina said as her eyes wandered from Emma’s gaze down to the woman’s lips.

“Why not?”

“It makes me want to kiss you even though we shouldn’t.”

“Who said we shouldn’t?”

“You.”

“I’m an idiot,” Emma said as she slowly started to lean in.

“While I agree with you, we both know you were right to stop us the last time we tried this.”

“Things have changed.”

“Emma—”

“Regina.” Emma stopped, her lips one small movement away from pressing against the brunette’s. “Kiss me.”

Emma lifted a hand and ran it through the other woman’s hair as she tucked it behind her ear.

“Kiss me,” Emma repeated in a whisper. “Let everything else fall away and kiss me.”

Regina caught her breath a second before she stretched up and closed the small distance that remained between their mouths. Her lips molded with Emma’s in a soft but immediately deep kiss.

Emma curved her back and pressed her lower half further onto Regina as her upper back curled into an partial “C” shape. She dipped her head to keep their lips connected while the rest of her body fluidly rolled against the woman underneath her. She broke the kiss after another moment due to the way she moved and Regina hesitantly smiled up at her.

She gently nudged Emma off of her and rolled onto her side, her back to the blonde. She reached behind herself and grabbed Emma’s arm then pulled it across her waist. She moved back so she could feel Emma pressed up against her and snuggled into the embrace.

Regina turned her head to look up again at Emma. She leaned back and pecked Emma on the lips. As she made herself comfortable again then closed her eyes and slowly started to drift off, Emma nuzzled her nose into the crook of Regina’s neck. Only then did everything else fall away and leave them to a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Morning thankfully didn’t come too early for them. Sun streamed through window, high enough in the sky for Regina to ascertain it was at least after eight as she gradually started to wake. She blinked and rubbed away the sleep from her eyes while she felt a warmth caused not only by the sheets that wrapped around her. That warmth made the morning a good morning for her and it had barely even started.

She stretched out while she continued to lay on the bed and a moment later she realized part of the warmth she felt was on her bare skin, high up under her shirt. She furrowed her brow and looked down to see Emma’s arm hidden beneath the V-neck, the younger woman’s hand just below her braless breast. Under the covers, the shirt Regina wore had mostly ridden up when she’d stretched and the bed sheets were the only thing to hide the position of Emma’s hand.

Somehow during sleep, Regina ended up with one of Emma’s legs wedged between both of hers and a hand up her shirt. She felt Emma’s breath puff against her shoulder and she turned her head to look at the blonde as she continued to sleep.

“Really, dear,” Regina rhetorically asked with a raspy voice, still a little gravelly from sleep, as she laid on her back and glared at the woman.

Almost as if to spite Regina’s disapproval, Emma shifted to make herself comfortable after Regina’s earlier stretching repositioned her just enough to make it hard to stay asleep that way. She extended her leg further across the bed, which pushed it further between Regina’s legs, while her hand skated up and over an uncovered nipple.

Regina gasped and her body instinctively arched into the touch. One of Regina’s legs was draped over Emma’s lower back and her delightful, round ass. The blonde was on her stomach beside Regina while Regina remained on her back and for a very long moment, Regina wondered how it was they almost always managed to get themselves into similar positions whenever they shared a bed.

She placed a hand on top of the sheets over Emma’s hand beneath her shirt and started to pull the younger woman’s hand away from her breast when she heard footsteps approach. She immediately let go of Emma’s hand and sighed. It was better to stay in that position than to have whoever it was see her try to readjust it.

“Mom?”

Henry appeared at the top of the stairs a couple of seconds later.

“Good morning, Henry,” Regina smiled at him. “Did you sleep well after I woke you?”

Henry shrugged.

Regina frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“She really scares you,” he answered. “Your mom. Emma was already here with you and you still had a nightmare. It was about her, wasn’t it?”

Regina took a deep breath and sighed for the second time that morning. She slowly started to sit up in bed and held the covers up over her chest as she did. She grabbed Emma’s arm and pulled it down so her hand no longer lazily cupped her breast. Emma’s arm instead came to rest across her lap, her hand gently curled around her hip. Regina laid back against the headboard and patted the edge of the bed.

“Come here,” she sweetly said, and Henry walked over to the bed.

Regina lifted her leg—the one Emma had forced her to have splayed over the younger woman’s lower body—and lightly kicked the blonde’s leg away from hers before she scooted over enough to give their son a place to sit.

When Regina stopped moving, he sat on the edge of the bed and faced her as he folded a leg and rested his knee on her thigh over the covers.

“We’re going to be okay,” Regina reassured him. “My mother is someone to fear, but I think we can beat her as long as we’re together.”

“What if we get separated? What if she does something to trick us? You said it yourself, you wouldn’t want to run into the woman that raised the Evil Queen. What do we do when she comes back?”

“That’s what we’re going to figure out.”

“But what if she attacks before we can come up with a defense? What if good can’t win this time? What if she’s too powerful?”

“Oh, Henry,” Regina sympathetically looked at him before she reached up and brushed a hand through his hair. “Has anyone ever told you that you worry too much?”

“I kind of have to. Everyone I’m related to is a fairy tale character and because of that we have a lot of potential bad guys to fight.”

She chuckled and felt Emma move beside her.

The blonde grumbled and slipped her fingers into Regina’s shorts to grab more purchase on the other woman.

“If Cora’s not here, we should get as much sleep as we can before getting up,” Emma said.

Henry scrunched up his face as he looked at Emma and just how close his two mothers were on the shared bed.

“This is still really weird,” he confessed to Regina.

“What is?”

“You two. I know I keep asking Emma to help you, but I don’t… When I come into your bedroom in the morning, it’s just you. Even when Graham was always around the house, it’d just be you in bed. Even if you two haven’t fixed everything, you still look like a couple right now.”

“I think you’re just going to have to get used to having two parents,” Regina smiled at him.

Henry looked from Regina to Emma and back to Regina again before he smiled back.

“I think I’ll like that.” Henry quickly became serious again. “But if you two get together, _back_ together, I better not see anything. I didn’t even like thinking about what it meant that Graham was over all the time.”

Henry made a disgusted face and Regina laughed.

“Regina,” Emma crankily groaned. “If you’re not gonna sleep, can you at least let me?”

“Sorry,” Regina apologized and started to move away from Emma in an attempt to get out of bed.

“No,” Emma whined. “Come back.”

Emma gripped Regina tighter where her hand still rested against her hip and backside. She harmlessly yanked Regina back toward her with minimal success, but Regina at least didn’t move any further in an attempt to leave the bed.

“Grandma and Granps are making breakfast,” Henry said. “I think I’m gonna go down there and watch them cook. You can deal with that.”

“Thanks,” Regina flatly, sarcastically responded.

Henry smirked at her over his shoulder on his way to the stairs then left Regina and Emma alone again.

“Tell me you’re coherent enough to know Henry was just here and he needed to be calmed down,” Regina asked and received no response from Emma. She rolled her eyes, grabbed the pillow out from under the other woman’s head and bopped her on the head with it.

“Hey,” Emma exclaimed and popped up onto her elbows. She tried to take the pillow back, but Regina withheld it from her.

Emma pushed onto one hand and reached over Regina as the brunette held the pillow over the edge of the bed and above her own head. After another minute or so of failure while Regina laughed at her, Emma finally swung a leg over the other woman’s lap and positioned the brunette’s hips between her knees before she was able to reclaim the pillow. She tossed the pillow onto her side of the bed and victoriously grinned at the other woman before she really looked at Regina and realized the woman was at eye level with her chest. She lowered herself onto Regina’s lap and continued to straddle her while she moved her hands to grip the headboard on either side of the brunette.

“First you kissed me last night, this morning you grabbed my breast in your sleep, and now you want to sit like this,” Regina asked.

“Mm, no. I don’t want to sit like this,” Emma said before she swiftly leaned in and captured Regina’s lips with hers. “I want to sit like this.”

Emma went in for another kiss and grabbed the hem of Regina’s shirt. She pulled it up to her belly button and slipped her hand under the cotton material. Her fingertips brushed against olive skin before they skimmed over Regina’s breast. She felt the woman’s nipple perk up and harden under her touch and she grinned before she leaned in and stole another kiss.

“Mm, Emma,” Regina said between kisses and put a hand over Emma’s chest. She pushed Emma back. “Henry was just in here and you were groping me under the covers. You really want to press your luck a second time this morning and see what else you can get away with while your entire family is downstairs?”

“Actually,” Emma smirked, “that would be kind of fun.”

“Emma,” Regina warningly started to say, but Emma gleefully chuckled, almost giggled, and slid her free hand under the other woman’s shirt.

Emma cupped both of Regina’s breasts and pushed the brunette a little more firmly into the headboard behind her. She massaged Regina’s breasts as she leaned and kissed her yet again, searing and more passionate that time.

Regina whimpered into the younger woman’s mouth and grabbed one of Emma’s hips to steady herself, to keep her in the moment and grounded.

The blonde nipped at her bottom lip and Regina hugged Emma’s body to her with a slight grin and flipped them so Emma laid on her back horizontally across the bed and Regina hovered above her.

“I missed this,” Emma admitted with a smile as she spread her legs and let Regina settle between them.

“As far I as can remember, it’s been a week or less since we last did this.”

“Still, it felt like we wouldn’t even get _here_ let alone back together in any way, at least not for a _while_.”

“And where is here exactly,” Regina asked.

“Here is a damn good moment and we haven’t had one of those in what feels like a lifetime,” Emma answered and grabbed the neckline of Regina’s shirt then pulled her down for a kiss.

Regina melted on top of her like chocolate left out in the heat and smiled into their next kiss. Emma tried to slip her tongue past parted lips and Regina gently bit it before she dominated the kiss with her own tongue. She ran her fingers through blonde hair and while the kisses were deep and intense, they were slow and full of emotion to balance out the amount of lust behind them.

Emma arched into the other woman and smiled into the next kiss before she hummed with content.

“Are you awake now,” Regina asked as she pulled back and smirked down at the blonde.

“Mm, a little.”

Regina chuckled. “If we’re going to be a team, I think you’ll need to be a better morning person.”

“I’m a good morning person when you or sex, hopefully both, are involved.”

“Yes, but you can’t be dependent on that, dear.”

“Why not? It’s worked out pretty well for me so far,” Emma smugly grinned.

“Oh? How’s this for pretty well,” Regina asked and bit down on Emma’s neck just below her ear hard enough to cause the younger woman to yelp.

Emma writhed beneath her and bit her own bottom lip before she laughed.

“You better hope Mary Margaret and David don’t see that,” Emma said.

“Your hair is long enough. It should cover any mark I make there. And even if they see it, I don’t care. They can glare at me all they want. I still did it and I’ll do it again.”

Regina leaned in again and bit her neck closer to her collarbone.

Emma gasped and gripped one of Regina’s shoulders. She raked the nails of her free hand up the other woman’s back. The shirt rode up with the Emma’s hand and Regina licked where she bit to soothe the teeth marks she left on fair skin.

“Do you know how much I care about you,” Regina asked.

“I think I’m starting to.”

“Well, I do. I’m going to do everything I can to keep you and Henry safe. When I cast the curse I did it because I thought it was going to be my happy ending. It wasn’t for a long time and I’m not known to be patient, but I waited for Henry and I waited for you. Not well, but I waited and now I’m happy and I don’t want to let that go.”

“I think we’ve both waited far too long for happiness,” Emma replied.

“Are you saying that Henry and I make you happy?”

“Things are still so complicated,” Emma truthfully confessed, “but yeah, you’re both my…family. I’ve never had that before. And…and Henry’s amazing. You’ve done a great job with him.”

Tears started to well up in Emma’s eyes.

“Don’t cry,” Regina frowned and wiped the pad of her thumb over Emma’s cheek, even though no tears had fallen yet.

“I just… All of this… It’s happening so fast and I… First the curse and then my p-pa- Mary Margaret and David, and then _your_ mom. Everything’s so close to breaking and I just- I had just started to feel like I’d stumbled onto something good and now—”

“Shhh,” Regina instantly tried to calm her. “We’ll work through it. As for my mother, nothing’s going to happen.”

“But just last night, you—”

“She’s my mother. She frightens me. It’s normal. Well, not _normal_ , but _I’m_ used to it. Right now, this morning, she’s not your problem. Yes, we need to plan so we can defend ourselves against her and we should be concerned, but take a deep breath. One thing at a time.”

“But what’s first? I mean, do I focus on the problems I still have with the fact that fairy tales aren’t actually fairy tales, they’re _real_? Or the fact that I’m in lo—I’m sleeping with the infamous Evil Queen? But you’re only the Evil Queen when you look at it on paper, though, because you’re really just Regina. I’ve only known you as Regina and only seen you as Regina. But to everyone else that’s who you used to be so it’s real, it happened. Whatever.”

While Emma freaked out, both women completely missed the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

“Or should I focus on Mary Margaret and David being my—being who they are? But I should really probably be focused on Cora and forget about everything else, right? It’s what I do. I bury stuff and worry about the more immediate thing—”

“Don’t do that. Don’t bury anything. You’re a fighter. You can get through all of this. It’s a lot to take in, but I know you. I _know_ you.”

“You really don’t,” Emma self-depreciatingly laughed and then sniffled.

“I know enough. Just because I don’t know every single detail about your life before Storybrooke, doesn’t mean I don’t know you. You are…incredible. I haven’t met anyone like you. You get even with me because you _do_ fight and you’re tough, but you have a soft side. And dare I say it, you’re also good with Henry. You’re good _for_ him, and for me. You make things better, less tense. I really appreciate that.”

“Really,” Emma asked with a smile.

“Yes,” Regina firmly stated. “Emma, you are so very important. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I’m not. I’ve never been.”

“You are. You certainly act like it, don’t you,” Regina teased. “You held me when I had a nightmare and I’m not just talking about last night. You made it a point to come to me that night after the mob outside of my house and I didn’t have access to magic. You take charge and protect people even if you don’t feel like you can. You do it because you want to, you _need_ to be there for people you care for no matter what else you feel and that’s just one of the many things that makes you special.”

Emma blinked and finally the tears fell.

“It’s- Everything, it’s all—it’s so much. It’s _too_ much,” Emma said.

“I know,” Regina quietly said and leaned in. She brushed away tears on one side of Emma’s face and kissed away the tears on the other side.

Emma bunched her fist into the side of Regina’s shirt and took in a shuddering breath.

“God, I’m a mess.”

Regina chuckled. “I wondered when you would let it out.”

“Seriously?”

“Even _I_ think this is a lot for one week and I _knew_ about the fairy tale thing.”

Emma laughed through her tears and a moment later said, “Thank you.”

“You’re here for me and I’m here for you, no matter how anyone else feels about it.”

Emma smiled again.

“Okay,” she responded.

“Okay,” Regina repeated and leaned in again. She kissed the blonde sweetly and ran her hand from Emma’s hair to her shoulder and then sternum.

Regina kissed her again, not sinfully affectionate and just as sweetly as the first. Emma brought a hand up to brunette hair and ran her fingers through it before she gently gripped it as if it was a life preserver and Emma was drowning in the middle of an ocean.

“We do this thing, we face your mom,” Emma started to say once they ended the kiss. “We deal with her and then we talk about us. Does that sound good?”

“Yes, that sounds very good. But just so I’m prepared, should I look into renting a U-Haul?”

Emma looked both amused and surprised.

“Are you making a lesbian joke right now,” Emma asked.

“I may have cursed the town, but I kept up with the outside world as best as possible. I had a lot of free time.”

“Well, well,” Emma smiled. “Look at you, up to date with the modern times of the fairy tale-less society beyond the town line.”

“I guess you could say I’m full of surprises.”

“I am _definitely_ saying that,” Emma replied, “because you really are.”

They laughed together and after a few seconds they heard a throat clear by the staircase. They turned and saw Snow standing across the room just past the top of the stairs.

“Oh, hey, Mary Margaret,” Emma greeted a little awkwardly while she remained underneath Regina on the bed.

Regina and Emma lost their smiles and Regina not-too-slowly pushed off of the blonde. She cleared her own throat, which had gone a little dry considering how vulnerable she’d looked in front of the other woman while she was with Emma and she finger-combed her hair a bit to ensure it didn’t look out of place.

Emma sat up and balanced herself on her hands as she rested them near one edge of the bed, her legs still spread and Regina still plenty far between them. The brunette was on her knees on the mattress, however, and their bodies weren’t pressed together anymore. It wasn’t completely innocent, but it wasn’t salacious either.

“I just thought someone should tell you breakfast is ready and Henry said he wasn’t going to be the one to come up here again,” she carefully said. “Now I think I know why.”

Emma sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but we weren’t doing anything,” Emma defended them.

“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant. I wasn’t… It’s fine. I actually wasn’t judging. I meant that Henry must not want to see his mothers like…that. I wouldn’t want to walk in on _my_ parents so close.”

Emma nodded and relaxed a little.

“So, there’s breakfast downstairs. We can talk about our next course of action with Cora over food or maybe wait until we’re finished, but there are eggs, bacon, sausage and French toast,” Mary Margaret informed them then gave a nod and turned and headed back downstairs.

“Wow. That was surprisingly civil,” Emma said. “I thought with all your history that would have been… And then with all their objections…”

“I know. It’s strange.”

Emma chuckled. “Definitely. Okay. Time to eat. I just realized how hungry I am.”

“You’re _always_ hungry,” Regina smiled.

“Mhmm,” Emma agreed with a smile and leaned in. She kissed Regina once more and then groaned as she started to get out of bed. “Let’s go help ourselves to a warm meal neither of us made.”

Emma took Regina’s hand and helped pull her onto her feet. They walked hand in hand down the stairs and only let go right before they reached the kitchen counter.

When Regina cut Snow a side-glance she realized the other woman had caught the display of affection, but as she faced forward again and took the stool next to Emma at the counter it was then she noticed Charming had not. That was probably for the best.

Charming served Emma a plate of French toast and bacon with a warm, loving smile and then looked over at Regina and glared. He served her nothing and Regina didn’t flinch. She accepted it and stood up. She walked around the counter, moved past Charming as he tried his best to avoid her in the small space on the other side of the countertop, and she served herself. Her back was to him and his wife, but she would have bet good money he sent Snow a look with a raised brow and unhappy expression. Regina would have won that bet.

Emma waited before digging in as she toyed with her utensils, flipped them over and over in her hands, and watched Regina make a plate for herself. When Regina started to walk back around to the empty stool, Emma finally started to cut up her French toast and eat it.

Regina settled in next to her and the two of them silently ate together, a peaceful silence between them. At one point during the meal, Emma even looked over at Regina then at the woman’s plate and reached over to steal a bite of the brunette’s pancakes. She proudly smirked at Regina when the other woman stared her down. Regina rolled her eyes in response to the smirk and went back to her breakfast without any other protest to the blonde’s actions.

Snow and Charming watched from the small kitchen table and Snow didn’t seem as surprised or confused as Charming. He silently questioned it a moment after he turned away from the other women and looked at his wife.

“I think…I saw what Henry sees,” Snow quietly explained.

“What?”

“It isn’t some spell.”

“How can you agree with Emma on this?”

“Because I went up there, David. They didn’t know I was there and I saw enough to know that whatever’s between them isn’t one of Regina’s tricks.”

“What did you see,” Charming asked as he leaned forward in his seat.

“I saw…” Snow drifted off as she took a moment to look over at Emma and Regina then looked at Charming once again and continued. “I saw compassion, comforting, reassurances. David, I saw love.”

Charming started to choke as he coughed and pounded against his chest with a closed fist, food lodged in his throat. His fork clattered onto the plate and caught everyone’s attention for a brief moment.

“Sorry,” he apologized and waved at them in a dismissive gesture that told everyone he was fine.

A couple of seconds passed and he stopped coughing. He cleared his throat and calmed down as he took a long sip of orange juice. Henry, Emma, and Regina returned to their own food. Henry was on the couch with his food. He seemed content to eat alone while Emma and Regina occasionally glanced over at him then returned to their companionable silence.

Snow watched them for a while, the women’s backs to the other couple and Henry, and Charming looked over at them as well to see whatever she claimed to have seen.

Just then, Emma looked dejected and Charming and Snow watched as Regina carefully reached over and gently placed a hand on Emma’s forearm. Emma visibly relaxed and didn’t even have to look at Regina for either woman to know the touch helped in a tremendous way.

Another minute passed and Regina let go only to push her plate over to be right next to Emma’s. There was still half a pancake and a single sausage link left. Emma looked at Regina and smiled then picked up her fork and took a bite of Regina’s pancake.

Charming’s eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. He looked at Snow and saw her knowingly smile with a hint of pain and sadness in her eyes.

“I didn’t want it to be true,” she told him, “but I see something there. Emma’s not hopelessly in unrequited love with the Evil Queen. She’s mutually in love with Regina.”

“But…how? How did this happen?”

Suddenly, Henry appeared next to them with a foodless plate and a smile.

“I told you,” he said. “It’s not…it’s not bad. This could be a good thing.”

And as the three of them looked over at Emma and Regina just as Emma broke her last piece of bacon in half and offered it to Regina who kindly accepted it, Snow and Charming were inclined to agree. It could be a good thing.

Around forty minutes later, dishes were washed off and left to dry on the clean side of the sink while Snow and Charming drank tea together at the table and ran through the potential scenarios with Cora. Henry sat next to Regina on the stools at the counter while Emma stood across from him and leaned onto the countertop on her elbows.

“So, you know her better,” Emma started to say. “How do you think we should come at Cora?”

“By not ‘coming at her’,” Regina answered. “Striking first could help us come out on top, but most likely it’s a mistake. More times than not it means showing our hand and allowing her to find our weaknesses. She already knows mine.”

“Okay. So how do we protect ourselves,” Henry asked.

“I…I think we’re going to need some help,” Regina reluctantly confessed.

“What, like _magical_ help,” Emma asked.

“Well, I certainly need help in that department. I need to practice. I need to find a way to use my magic without you being my catalyst. We should probably find out just why that is, too.”

“Then what?”

“I’m not sure. It might help to go to the person who brought magic back, however.”

“Gold,” Emma asked with raised brows, shocked but a little upset at Regina’s perceived suggestion.

“He’s always several steps ahead and he’s been around much longer than me. He’s also the one who taught me magic so he knows a great deal more than I do. He’ll probably know what’s wrong.”

“And you honestly believe he’ll want to help?”

“Well, we do have a common enemy.”

Emma frowned and furrowed her brow while Charming and Snow headed over to the counter and joined their conversation.

“My mother,” Regina added, and Emma and Henry looked almost identical in that moment.

Both Henry and Emma’s eyes were wide and they were stunned beyond words. Their expressions were extremely similar and their biology became very apparent to Regina in that moment, but thankfully it didn’t bother her that time.

“They have a history,” Snow asked with just as much surprise from her place beside the corner of the counter, in the distance on Emma’s side of the counter between the blonde and Regina.

“According to both my mother and my father, yes,” Regina replied. “My father was the one who told me how my mother learned magic. Rumple was her tutor.”

“Huh. Way to keep the magic mentor in the family,” Emma commented before she saw Regina’s less than pleased reaction and winced. “Sorry.”

Regina shook her head and moved on.

“He may also have a few suggestions as to how to deal with her. He’s gone head to head with her before, or so I’ve been told. He might be able to help in more ways than one. Although I’m not quite sure what would convince him to do that,” Regina said.

“Um,” Emma shuffled and shifted uncomfortably for a moment before she confessed, “there’s always that favor I owe him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much in the way of plot, but we're getting there. I felt that the emotional aspects of this chapter were still needed as a continuation from the last chapter. Let me know what you think.


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